No More
by ll Kairi ll
Summary: "I'll always be here for you, Yami. I'm not going anywhere." Was what I told my lover. That was months ago and I still havent left him, even though he and our friends had left me.What did I do to deserve being ignored? YAOI! YxY BxR MxM SxJ TxD
1. Chapter 1

Yes, I know what you're thinking, 'Why did she write another story when she already has two up?' Well…. I really don't know. ^^

Lisa: Because you're dumb..

Stop being mean… T_T I do have to warn you though, this is not like all of my other stories. Some of y'all might not like me after this so I'll say this in capital letters… THIS IS A YAOI STORY!

Lisa: I still can't believe you are writing to yaoi. I thought you said you never would!

I did say that, didn't I? Well, it's only this once. After this, I doubt I'll write to another yaoi. (But who knows) If you don't like yaoi and don't read it, I'm fine with that. I'm just trying this out and see how it goes. So, now on with the chapter!

Malik: Light  Marik:** Dark**. = Bronzeshipping

Yugi: Light. Yami: **Dark** = Puzzleshipping

Ryou: Light. Bakura: **Dark** = Tendershipping  
>Puppyshipping- Kaiba X Joey<br>Chaseshipping- Tristan X Duke

**Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Nor any of its characters, just my own**

Chapter One

I blinked my eyes opened and let out a small yawn. Facing the wall, I let my brain de-fog itself from sleep before rolling over to face my alarm clock on the nightstand right next to my bed. Upon seeing it, I let out a mental groan and closed my eyes once again.

It was Friday morning and the clock was just turning six-thirty. My alarm didn't go off for another forty-five minutes and I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. Once I woke up in the mornings, I wouldn't go back to sleep, no matter how hard I tried. It would just be a constant struggle to relax my brain and I would end up with a really bad headache.

'_Might as well get a head start this morning,' _I thought and pushed the covers off of my small frame. Almost immediately, I regretted doing so as the cold hit my exposed skin and caused goose bumps on my arms.

I rubbed my arms with my hands, trying to warm them up as I crawled out of my warm bed. I had to move slowly so I wouldn't aggravate my bruises of old and new that I had all along my body,

For the last three months, it seemed like every bully in town had grown a liking to making me their punching bag. Some were doing it to relieve stress and anger while others did it because they could do it without getting into trouble and they enjoyed my pain.

They only got away with this because they noticed one thing. My 'body guards' as what some people called them, were no longer with me; they no longer hung around me. So, I was an easy target. They could do whatever they wanted to and get away with it.

Once I made it out of my bed, I walked slowly to my closet to grab one of my clean school uniforms. My sides started to protest against the movement, but I ignored it, just like how I did every morning.

'_Wow, I'm going to have to do laundry when I get home,' _I thought when I opened my closet's door. Out of the five uniforms I had for school, only one clean one hung on a hanger. All of the others were stained with blood and had tears in them. They were in the dirty clothes basket in the corner of the closet and it was full.

Shaking my head that I became lazy in washing my clothes, I grabbed the clothes I needed and made my way over to my bedroom door so that I could take a shower. Since it was before seven, I knew Yami wouldn't be awake yet so I could get my things done without having to disturb him.

As quietly as I could, I opened my door and stuck my head out. The hallway was dark and quiet; the only light was coming from my bedroom and a small night light that was on in the bathroom. I glanced to my left, noticing that Yami's door was still closed with the light off. It was very rare, but sometimes he did wake up early.

I casted my eyes downward and tried to make sure tears didn't form as I left my room and walked to the bathroom that was right across from my door.

I closed the bathroom's door behind me and set my clothes on the counter. Quickly, I turned the shower on, making sure the temperature was set on hot, and stripped my clothes off. The cold floor was numbing my feet and with no clothes to protect me, the cold was causing more goose bumps.

Just as I stepped into the shower, my thoughts went on a ride down memory lane.

Flash Back:

"_Are you sure?" I asked, bewildered. Tears were still falling from my eyes but much more slowly than before. Beside me, I felt my hand being squeezed from the love of my life. _

_The golden form that was known as Ra, the God of Sun, nodded what seemed to be his head. "The pharaoh from ancient times has been granted this wish as he has saved the human race on multiple occasions. He was willing to give his life up to save others, whether they knew him or not." Ra looked to Yami, who was just as shocked as I and everyone else in the cave. But, being the son of a great pharaoh, he easily masked his expressions and smiled. _

"_I can stay?" Yami repeated, just to be sure he didn't hear wrong. His insides were jumping in joy. _

"_If that is what you wish, than yes, you can." Ra confirmed, his glowing form swirling different colors. The colors created a beautiful sunset that created a perfect moment that in many ways, I couldn't explain. _

_I tore my gaze away from the god and was about to turn to Yami when I heard some sniffling. With a slight frown, I turned the other way and caught sight of a heart breaking sight. The two other yami's and hikari's were towards the back of the chamber, caught up into each other to pay attention to what was going on. Ryou was clinging to his love, Bakura like he was a life preserver, sobbing as quietly as he could into his chest. Bakura, known for his tough personality and rudeness, always was soft for his Light and was caressing his hair in soothing strokes. His eyes looked misty as his cheek rested on top of Ryou's. The other couple was also in an embrace, but instead of Malik crying into Marik's chest, they just held each other. Malik's head was tucked underneath his Dark's chin as he watched me with a shaky smile. Marik was staring at the chamber's wall, not wanting to watch. He was rubbing Malik's back in gently, slow circles, trying to comfort his lover for the last time. _

_Because Marik and Bakura caused trouble in the past, before they hooked up with their hikari's, the god was sending them back. He saw no need for them to be here. But, he never paid attention to what happened after their status went from being single, to being in a relationship. They still did bad things, but it wasn't as extreme anymore. They knew if they acted the same, their loved ones could get hurt, and they weren't going to risk that. But, no matter what, they weren't allowed to stay. Or were they…_

_I turned to Yami who noticed what I was looking at. A look of understanding passed through his eyes and he gave me a slight nod. I smiled in return and looked back to Ra. I took a deep breath and said, "With all due respect, sir…" The word felt weird to say. I didn't know what to call the god so I stuck with any other polite term. I hope he didn't mind. A squeeze on my hand kept me going, "I can't… It wouldn't be fair if Yami stayed here." I noticed a flicked of surprise cross the god's face and a gasp of shock from the people behind me. I quickly continued, fearing that I might upset the god, "I mean, I'm honored that Yami get's to stay, but, it wouldn't be fair to have my Darker half stay while Bakura and Marik left. I know they did wrong in the past, but they've changed." I look back over to the couples who were all facing me. Ryou had turned his head to me and a look of hope entered his brown eyes. _

"_Don't punish Malik and Ryou because of what their yami's did. It's because of them that Bakura and Marik have stopped their intense crimes." I looked over to Malik who was almost the same as Ryou. He mouthed a silent thank you to me and I smiled. _

_I returned my gaze back to the Sun God, wondering what he would say. The worst he could do was say no, since he already allowed Yami to stay. Gods can't really say, 'Sorry, but I take back what I just said.' _

_To add any help, Yami said, "I will always be here to keep an eye out for them in case they try to cause the world trouble."_

_There was a long moment of silence. They only thing that could be heard was sniffling and breathing. I knew my friends were all antsy for the answer, as was I. But, we had to be patient. We wanted the god to really think about his answer and any word spoken might make him say no. _

_After what seemed like an eternity, the Sun God nodded his head. "Alright. As long as they do not cause trouble, they are permitted to stay. One false move and you two will be out of here without any explanation." _

_I breathed a sigh of relief and looked to my own yami. He turned to me and smiled. I couldn't believe it was only a couple of minutes ago that we had fought the Ceremonial Battle to let his soul (and the other two) rest in peace. But, as he was walking up to the pillar to announce his name, the god had appeared and stopped them. Now, no one had to leave; it would be just like old times. _

_XxxxX_

_Later that day, Ishizu had invited us all to stay the night at her home before leaving to go back to Japan the next day. We had all eaten a big Egyptian dinner, or at least tried because Joey took a liking for the new foods and ended up eating almost all that he could get his hands on, and we all had went to explore. _

_Tea and Ishizu had gone shopping and brought Solomon and Mokuba and Odion along, feeling that they were lonely because they didn't have any significant other. They had been gone for a long time and were still out. Everyone else was with their other, off cuddling. _

_From what I could remember, Joey and Kaiba were somewhere in the kitchen, due to Joey's stomach growling (Kaiba complained and said they already ate and Joey argued back that it was two hours ago. Kaiba corrected him in saying that it was an hour and a half. Joey finished it by saying 'Oh well, I'm hungry. Now where's that_ _Keshk_? [1]). _Duke and Tristan, if they stayed where they said they were going to be, were in the living room, making out. Marik and Malik were taking a walk around the house and Bakura and Ryou were on the balcony upstairs facing the West. _

_As for me and Yami? We were on the back porch, tangled up with one another. I was curled up in my Dark's arms as we sat in one of the comfiest chairs outside while looking up at the stars. The sun had set over an hour ago and this was where we have been ever since dinner. _

"_I love you," Yami whispered, resting his head against mine. His legs were wrapped against me like his arms, reminding me that he was never going to let go. _

_I leaned back into him and tilted my head up, kissing his cheek. "I love _you_." I smiled and relaxed against him. The night's air was a crisp chill, but I didn't feel it; for the warmth from my love protected me from the cold weather. _

_As my head was tilted up, I caught sight of a certain couple that was on the floor outside above us. They were towards the railing so I could get a better view. I smiled. Bakura was holding his love from the back and had his chin resting on Ryou's shoulder. Ryou was leaning back against his dark and they talked quietly to each other. I was too far away to make out what they were saying, but I had a faint clue it had something among the lines of 'I love you'._

_I looked away and closed my eyes, feeling safe and secure within his embrace. _

"_You know," Yami softly said, whispering in my ear, "I was kind of afraid today."_

_I kept my eyes closed and frowned, "What about?" _

_In an even softer tone, he answered, "Leaving. I was afraid I would never see you again." _

_Hearing the sadness clear in his voice, I opened my eyes and looked at him. He didn't meet my eyes; instead, his was looking up at the sky until I untangled one of my hands from his and guided his face until he was looking me straight in the eye. _

"_You weren't the only one afraid," I whispered, matching his tone. To be honest, I was terrified, but I didn't mention that out loud. "I was wondering how I was going to continue living without you. You're my whole life, Yami." At that, my hand squeezed his. _

_He nodded his head and leaned down until his lips met mine in a soft kiss. When he pulled away, he said, "I'm just glad I get to stay. I miss my other life and wish I could see my family, but, you're more important to me. I don't want to lose you."_

_I smiled. "You won't."_

"_I know." He hugged me tight and I slipped my hand back into his. He closed his eyes and matched his breathing to mine. _

_I stared up at the night sky, watching one of the brightest stars shine. I sighed and then whispered, "I'll always be here for you, Yami. I'm not going anywhere."_

End of Flashback:

I let my tears mix in with the water from the shower as I stood there. What I said that day, I still meant it now. No matter how bad things got, I wasn't going to go anywhere. I was staying put, whether he liked it or not.

XxxxX

Please tell me how you like it!

1.] A pudding made from yogurt, fried onions, chicken broth, and boiled chicken, one of Egypt's classic dishes


	2. Chapter 2

Well, another chapter is up! :D

Lisa: About time! It took you what, a whole month to update?

.. Yes...

Lisa: What kind of author are you?

A busy one! Now leave me alone! -To readers**-** Tell me how you like it!

**Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Nor any of its characters, just my own**

Chapter Two

I slowly rinsed the suds from my hair so that I could finish my shower. As I was doing so, I couldn't help but think about how soon after that day with Yami, I was starting to be ignored by him and everyone. At first, I thought that maybe Yami just wanted some time to get used to having his own body again. But after a while, I realized it was more. Every time I tried to talk to my love, he would completely ignore me and blow me off; giving me the cold shoulder. Every single time it was like that. It made me wonder, was it something I did or said?

Right when I realized Yami was giving me the cold shoulder, I called my best friend to ask him if he knew anything. This was before I found out they stopped talking to me too. But, when I tried to talk to Joey, he wouldn't talk back. Just like Yami, he completely ignored me. Even Ryou and Malik, the other hikari's ignored me too! No one would talk to me, not even Bakura who usually had fun in calling me names. I was alone with no one talking to me.

Finally done rinsing my body and hair off of all of the soap, I turned the faucet off and grabbed the towel that was hanging on the rack. I wrapped the fluffy, absorbent cloth around my small frame and hopped out of the tub. Immediately, I wished I didn't. The shower curtain was keeping the warmth from the water in and the cold out so when I stepped away, I pretty much stepped into the cold. Goosebumps appeared all over my arms and a light shiver started.

"I-I hate… winter!" I chattered as I tried to dry myself off as quickly as possible. With the mirror still fogged up, I was spared from having to see myself. I preferred it that way. I wasn't forced to look at all of the black and blue bruises that littered my body or any of the scars.

Gently, I dabbed the towel against the sensitive areas until it was dry and tried not to wince. Even after two days, the bruises were still fresh and did not want to be touched, even with the softest of hands.

Once I completely dried myself off, I dressed myself in the school's uniform and grabbed a comb from the cabinet. I ran it through my damp hair to ensure there were no tangles and then placed the small plastic comb back where I found it before grabbing my tooth brush and tooth paste and started to brush my teeth. Once my teeth were cleaned, I placed my items back and by this time, the steam from the mirror faded.

I stared into the mirror and found a teenage boy starring back. The boy was thin from not eating enough and with a result from the lack of nutrition; his hair lost some of its shine. Black circles were under his eyes and his eyes… his usual bright, cheerful amethyst eyes were dull and empty. His eyes that were always full of some many emotions were just… dead looking.

I glanced away from the depressing reflection that I knew was of myself and gathered my pajama's before leaving the room. I opened the door and turned the light off. Not paying attention, I bumped into someone.

"S-sorry," I automatically said and took a step back. It was always in my nature to apologize even when it wasn't my fault. But in this case, it was mine.

"Watch it," a deep, baritone voice growled, causing me to wince.

With my eyes glued on my feet, I waited until my look alike walked past me and then made a quick escape to my room.

"What caused him to change so fast? I whispered to no one but myself when I was in the safety of my room with the door closed. Tears filled my eyes once again but I kept them from escaping. I really needed to stop crying so much. "What did I do?"

I rubbed my eyes and tossed my pajamas over to my bed before going over to my desk. Homework was sprawled out all over the desk with textbooks and journals that you couldn't even see the table top. I started to arrange the papers in order so I could pack it in my bag. Because no one would talk to me, I had all of this extra time and I didn't know what to do with it. So, I started to ask the teachers for more homework whether it be extra credit or something to help me get better at the subject. After a while, with grades past the nineties, the teachers were running out of things to give me so they started to give me homework for the next day. As of now, I was three months ahead of all of my fellow classmates and still understood what was happening during class. With all of the homework I was given (the teachers doubled my homework so it would keep be busy. They thought it would take me a week or two to complete it all but I surprised them by completing all of it in three days so they gave me more), it helped keep my mind off of _him. _

I sighed and continued to pack my backpack. My thoughts started to drift off as I thought about the first day Yami snapped at me. It was something I was never going to forget.

Flashback:

_I woke up to the feeling of being cold. The usual arm that was around me, hugging me to his chest wasn't there to keep me warm. In fact, I didn't even feel him near me. Uncurling from the form I had took to keep warm while I was asleep, I rolled over and found that I was by myself in my bed. I touched the spot where Yami slept and found the spot to be cold, like he hadn't been there for a while. _

_Mentally shrugging, I figured Yami just woke up early and got out of bed without waking me. He was really good at that, not once ever waking me up unless it was his intention too. _

_Since it was Sunday, I laid back down and closed my eyes, thinking I could get a few more hours of sleep. But, after a couple of minutes with my eyes closed, I realized my brain started to become restless as random thoughts filled my head. Thoughts that had no meaning to them, but just popped in my head. _

'Might as well go and find Yami,' _I thought and got out of my warm bed. _

_Exiting my room, I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and descended the stairs. I could hear the TV on a low volume and knew Yami was down there. _

"_Morning," I said when I entered the living room. I found my love on the couch, already dressed for the day even though it was only nine-fifteen in the morning. _

_Instead of looking at me and bidding me a morning back, Yami simply reached forward and grabbed the remote off of the coffee table and clicked the volume button to increase the sound. _

_Being oblivious, I didn't take the hint that he was trying to watch his show. I sat down on the couch right next to him like I did every day. "So what're you watching?" I asked and brought my knees up to my chest and hugged them. With my chin on my knees, I watched the TV. _

_No reply was heard. _

_From the corner of my eye, I noticed my darker half scoot away from me, as much as the couch would allow before he ran out of cushion. _

_Turning to him with a frown, I asked, "Are you alright, Yami?" He has a scowl on his face and I knew from experience he was annoyed about something. Maybe he missed his favorite show? I've seen him get in a bad mood because he missed the morning show of Phineas and Ferb when it was supposed to be a new one. He stayed mad for half the day and it took a lot of kissing and sweet talk to get him out of him. _

_There was still no answer. _

"_Ya-,"_

"_Will you shut up?" Yami suddenly lashed out without and turned to me to give me a look of annoyance. He took me by surprise by his harsh tone that I flinched and just watched him as he returned his attention back to the TV. _

"_Oh… kay," I said, confused and a little hurt. Never, in the three years I have known him, had he ever used that tone with me before. Once or twice, he raised his voice but this, this was something different. Even by just looking at him, something was up. I tried our mind connection, seeing if everything was okay, but as soon as I tried, I came in contact with a barrier. _

'I wonder if something happened earlier to make him like this. He's upset about something.' _I thought and returned my attention back to the TV. I lowered my head back down to rest my chin on my knees. '_He never closes his link.'

_For the longest time, it was quiet between us, probably the longest it had ever been. _

"And we'll be back after this short break," _The TV anchor said as the show went to a commercial. Yami stood up from his seat and walked towards the kitchen. Since I didn't want to watch the commercials, I decided to follow him and see what was up since nothing was distracting him now. _

"_Yami, is everything alright?" I asked and stayed standing by the door. _

_He didn't answer as he crossed the small room and pulled the fridge's door opened. He rummaged around, looking for something to drink and pulled out a bottle of water when he didn't find anything he wanted. He closed the door and walked back my way. _

_As he started to pass by me, I reached out and gently grabbed a hold of his wrist, growing concern by each passing second. "Yami -,"_

_**Slap**_

_My hand went immediately to my stinging cheek as I stared at my Dark with hurt eyes. _

_Yami trained his narrow crimson eyes on me as he snatched his wrist out of my grasp. In a voice so cold that made me want to shiver, he growled, "_Don't _touch me."_

_Tears welled up in my eyes and I barely nodded my head. I remained silent and watched him walk past me, back over to the couch. I didn't realize that was the last conversation we had._

End of Flashback

With my shoes already on my feet and the straps for my backpack already on my shoulders, I walked to my bedroom door and opened it. I dragged myself out from my warm bedroom and into the slightly chilly hallway before closing my door right behind me. After hearing the door close all the way, I started down the hall to the stairs, trying to stay as quiet as possible.

Once off the stairs, instead of going to the kitchen to grab a bit to eat, I headed in the opposite direction, going towards the door.

Ever since Yami stopped talking to me, I stopped feeling hungry, especially in the mornings. I lost a lot of weight and it showed, but I didn't care. The only time I really ate was during supper and I ate small portions. I guess it was because of my depression that I wasn't really hungry anymore. I was always more thirsty and drank at least four bottles of water, maybe five a day. I took a few vitamins so I wouldn't get sick and have a poor health condition, but that was about it. Food wasn't as important to me anymore.

Reaching the door, I took my bag off and grabbed my coat that hung on the rack. After slipping into it and buttoning it up, I bent down and slung my bag back onto my shoulders.

My hand touched the door knob and before I opened it, I called out, "I'm leaving," in a slightly louder voice so I could be heard. I waited for a minute, seeing if I'd get a reply. But, like everyday, I never received one. I sighed and twisted the door knob and let myself in into the shop part of the house.

The shop was dark with no light coming in. All of the blinds were covering the windows so no light was allowed to even come in. And with no sound of customers browsing around or the cash resister being opened and closed, it was silent.

I walked past the counter with the money box and the note grandpa left me and Yami a few months back. He was going on a six month dig and needed us to care for the shop. He left directions for us about which days to open the shop and for how long it needed to be left opened. But, ever since he left, it was always me who tended to the shop while Yami went off and hung out with our friends. Or should I say _his _friends.

Without stopping to check on anything, I continued on and exited the shop out into the gloomy winter day. Clouds covered the sun, turning what could have been a beautiful cold day into a depressing one. Without the sun's rays to warm the earth, the winter's wind chilled me right to the bone the moment I set foot outside. Immediately, I stuffed my hands deep into my coat's pockets and huddled deeper into it, wishing it would just swallow me whole so I wouldn't have to face the coldness.

"Oh, I really don't like the cold," I mumbled to myself as the freezing wind blew around me and right through me. I shivered and my teeth started to chatter lightly. Setting off at a fast pace, I headed towards the school. Thinking about the warm building did a little to stop my teeth from chattering but when the cold air nipped at my exposed skin, it came back. Goosebumps formed on my arms.

In fifteen minutes, I reached the school and wasted no time in entering it. Right when I did, the warm air hit my cold and red cheeks and I felt grateful for it. Now I just needed to get my teeth to calm down.

As I walked through the hallways, heading for my classroom, a few people who noticed me gave me small smiles before resuming what they were doing, whether it be messing around in their lockers or talking to their friends. I smiled back to them and waved to a girl.

When I reached my class, the chattering stopped and I wasn't shivering anymore. My body was adapting to the warmth the school was providing. I opened the door and slipped inside before closing it right behind me.

The room was almost empty except for four people inside. The teacher who was grading papers at her desk -she looked up and gave me a warm smile- and three students. I knew two of the three; Ryou and Bakura. Bakura was in his seat, turned back and was hunched over working on a paper. Most likely his homework. Ryou was helping him like he always did, even though he told his lover he needed to do his work earlier. When I had entered, they looked up and when they didn't see anybody worth talking to, they resumed what they were doing. I didn't mind as I ignored them (Which was still hard to do) and went to my seat, the desk in the back, next to the window.

The day that Yami snapped at me was the day I realized I had no friends. No one would talk to me, not Joey, who was my best friend, Tea, who I had known since grade school, not Tristan or Ryou, or anyone else. Heck, Bakura didn't even give me some snide remark anymore, which he always did because it annoyed Yami.

With them not talking to me, or even looking at me, it felt like I was invisible. Every time they looked in my direction, they seemed to be looking straight through me.

I sat down at my desk and shrugged my bag off of my shoulders. Laying it on my desk, I opened it up and brought my thick book of word searches out. Almost half of the book was done and there were over thirteen thousand puzzles. I had to keep myself busy somehow.

I was so engrossed in my search, I didn't realize fifteen minutes had passed by. It wasn't until the bell rung over head did I remember where I was.

From the time I wasn't paying attention, the room had been filing up. More students had made their way to class, including the people who I still considered friends. Tea, Duke and Tristan were all sitting around Ryou and Bakura. Duke was sitting on Tristan's lap as they were discussing their plans over the weekend with the other three. Every few seconds they would lock lips and then talk. Just walking in was Malik who was holding hands with his darker half Marik. It looked more like Malik was dragging Marik in then holding hands. Walking a few steps behind them were Joey and Kaiba, they were holding hands as well, but unlike the other two, they were holding hands and were softly talking to one another. For once, they weren't doing one of their famous arguments, but that wouldn't last for to long. And last by no least, walking behind the couples, was Yami. Quickly, I adverted my eyes back down to my word search.

Without even having to look up, I knew they went to their seats and started to talk. Kaiba would bring out his laptop out from his brief case he was always carrying and opened it up. He scooted it to one side and Joey sat on the desk that the laptop wasn't occupying. They always did this, no matter how many times the teachers would scowled them. Ryou and Bakura would by now be done with Bakura's work and were engaged in conversation with everyone else.

For a couple of minutes, The students chattered away as the teacher finished her grading and began a silent roll call. She would glance up every now and then to see who all was here.

"Mr. Wheeler," she said, not bothering to look up, "Find your own seat, please. And no, the table top is not a seat. Find your own desk." She added when Joey opened his mouth to protest that he was in a seat.

Kaiba squeezed Joey's knee as he hopped down and took the empty seat behind his boyfriend.

"Now, I would like everyone to take their text books out and turn to page three hundred and forty-seven." She instructed and the students all groaned. However, they reached under their desks and took their language arts book out.

I pulled my book out as well and turned to the correct page. I already did this assignment so I felt no need to pay attention. So, instead of looking down at the text, I turned my head and propped it on my hand with my elbow resting on the table. I looked out the window and let my mind wonder like I normally did. The teachers never minded, nor did they ever notice, so they never said anything.

It had only been ten minutes since the class started to read when I heard my name being called. I blinked and looked away from the window and over to the teacher. She was watching me with a patient look, as was everyone else in the class.

"I'm sorry, may you repeat that?" I asked, having not heard what she had just said.

"Please read, Mr. Mutou," She repeated.

I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment and I stumbled to stand up. I heard a snicker or two somewhere in the class from my clumsiness, but I choose to ignore it. I picked the book up off of my desk and knew exactly where we were, though I had no idea how. After a deep breath, I began to read in a soft voice.

"A little louder please," the teacher instructed and I did as she said.

When I finished reading, I sat down. No one was looking at me anymore, which I was thankful for. But, what the teacher said next had a few students cast me looks of pity.

"Mr. Mutou, please see me after class."

I barely nodded my head and returned my gaze back to the window. Though I could care less, I didn't really want people to see the embarrassment that was on my face.

An hour seemed to fly by. Before I knew it, the bell rung its loud shrilly sound. I looked away from the window and closed by text book with a slam. I placed it back underneath my desk and packed my belongings back into my bag. By the time I stood up from my seat, half of the room was already gone, including _them._

I slowly walked up to the front of the class. I already had an idea why the teacher wanted to see me and would rather be on my way to my next class. All of my teachers have been asking me the same thing this week and it was starting to get on my nerves. It was nice of them to notice and care, but sometimes, I just wished they would mind their own business.

"You wanted to see me, Ms. Maki?" I asked when I reached her desk. I shifted my backpack straps so they would stop sliding off of my shoulders. Usually, when I was called up to see the teacher, I would fidget with nerves, but since this has already happened in other classes, I was normal.

Ms. Maki looked away from her computer and turned to me. From the way she leaned in and had her thin eyebrows knitted together in concern, I had to keep a sigh back. Here we go.

"Yugi, is everything at home going okay?" She asked with genuine concern. This was the popular question of the week.

I nodded my head, putting on my best puzzled face, "Yes. Why do you ask?"

"I've noticed you and Yami haven't been talking to one another in my class. And it's been like that for several months. You two used to be inseparable. Now..." Like her, all of my teachers knew me and Yami were going out and we would rarely leave each others side. They thought it was cute. And it took them long enough to notice and finally say something.

"We're taking... a break right now." It took me all of my courage not to start bawling as I said the word. It still hurt to admit that Yami wouldn't talk to me for god knows what reason.

I saw a flicker of surprise in her eyes. "Really?"

I nodded, despite having this conversation hurting me. "We're just working this out and it's taking some time."

Ms. Maki nodded, still surprised. She remembered the two happily going out like it was yesterday. It was like they were made for one another. Hearing this news, saddened her.

Then another thought occurred to her. "What about your other friends? I've noticed you haven't talked to them either. Are you having a fight with them too?"

I nodded my head. "It's really complicated right now. I uh... did something they didn't want me to do and they're still mad about it." That was the best I could come up with and still make it sound good. I didn't want to make it complicated, in fear that I'll forget something major.

I could tell the teacher wanted to ask more questions, but her next class started to arrive. She looked to the clock on the wall -having five more minutes to get to the next class- and returned her stare back on me.

Using a softer voice so no one would hear her, she said, "You know, Yugi, if you ever need to talk to anybody about anything, know that you can trust me."

I nodded my head in appreciation. "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind." I tried for a smile, barely succeeding, and added, "Well, I better get to my next class before I become late."

"Of course. Have a good day, Yugi," Ms. Maki said and watched as I left the classroom. She bit her lip, wondering if there was anything she could do to help him. But, unless he came to her, there wasn't anything she could do.

The remaining of school passed by in a blur. One minute I was taking a history test scheduled three months from now to exiting the school as the day ended.

I knew I needed to get home as soon as possible, knowing my tormentors were lurking everywhere. I could walk home, but I knew my body didn't feel too good for a beating today. It never did, but today seemed like it would be the day my body would give out.

Or, I could ride the bus.

I picked the latter. If I could, I would ride the bus everyday after school so I didn't have to be beaten up. But, then I'd have no money. I only used my allowance money for emergencies and today was kind of like one.

Feeling to make sure I had my wallet in my back pocket, I hurried off the school's ground to where the bus stop was. I didn't have to wait for the bus because it was already here. I walked up the steps and handed the driver the correct amount of change before taking a seat in the front of the slightly packed bus. Luckily for me, one of the stops was only a few houses down from my home.

Leaning my head against the window, I thought about what I should do when I get home. I didn't have to open the shop today so I was in luck. I did have some homework to do, but it wasn't going to keep me busy all night. Maybe I could watch TV and make a nice dinner. That would be something productive.

I closed my eyes for a few minutes, wishing I could be hanging out with my friends and lover instead of planning what I was going to be doing on my lonely night.

XxxxX

Tell me what you think! :)

Any comments, questions, concerns, suggestions, just tell me! Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Or any of it's characters, just my own!**

**Chapter Three**

"Where were you yesterday? I was really hoping that I would see you."

I stared at my sneakers, wishing I was anywhere but here. "I took the bus home..." I said as softly as I could manage without too much fear showing in my voice.

"You took the bus? Why would you do that, runt?" My bully, Ushio asked, stepping closer to where I could feel the heat radiate off of his body as the air around us was chilly.

I was already backed up against a brick wall with no where to escape. Ushio's gang were surrounding all of the exits and they were all grinning with lust in their eyes. All except for one. He was just grinning, though there was something in his eyes. I just couldn't make it out.

Searching my brain, I tried to think of an excuse that sounded logical. "I uh... needed to get home. My grandfather was going to call and I couldn't miss him phone call." I lied, praying that he accepted it.

Ushio nodded, but he wasn't satisfied with my answer. He stepped even closer until his body was pressing against mine. I was afraid he would be able to feel my racing heart in my chest.

"So, what did gramps gave to say?" He asked, his voice growing softer. He grabbed my chin and lifted my face up so I would have to look into his eyes. His murky brown eyes bore into mine.

I squirmed in his grip but he didn't let go. If anything, he held on tighter. "H-he just wa-wanted to see how things were." I tried and failed to keep my voice from stuttering. At least the stuttering covered up for my lie.

"Ah look," one of the goons snickered, "You're making him nervous!" Everyone but Ushio and the same guy laughed, though the leader did grin.

He pressed in harder against me. Using his free hand, he grabbed one of my blonde bangs and started to twirl it in between his thumb and forefinger. His eyes left mine to pay attention to what he was doing. "Is that true, Runt? Am I making you nervous?"

I swallowed. The truth was, he was. He was to close for comfort and his voice kept getting softer. He has already done this twice to me before and if I predicted correctly, whatever he says next, his voice would become seductive.

Ushio took my silence as a yes and he grinned widen. And just like I had predicted, his voice grew to what he thought was sexy and purred his next words, "You know I like it when you get nervous around me. It turns me... on." The hand that was playing with my bangs stopped and he slid his hand down until it rested on my waist. Goose bumps appeared on my arms as his hand started to move downwards.

"Please, don't," I whimpered. I would rather take a beating any day then what my oldest tormentor had in mind. His hand slide further down to my hip and he played with the end of my shirt. It didn't stay there long as his hand went under my shirt and held my waist with hand; his hand on my exposed skin caused me to shiver out of discomfort.

"Don't what?" His mouth was right next to my ear as his lips touched my neck. His gang members turned away to make sure no one was watching. They were hoping that when their leader got done, that they were able to have some fun with the poor unfortunate soul too. Not the kind of fun their leader was doing, just more of the punching and kicking.

I wanted to push him away but that wouldn't do anything. Besides not being strong enough to do so, he would find more pleasure by the movement.

Before his hand could go any further down, the one guy who hadn't been laughing from before, stepped up and put a firm hand on his leader's shoulder. "Dude, that's enough for today." He said, his tone serious. "Save that for a different day or something."

Ushio shrugged the hand off, "Go away, Danny." He said, turning his face away so he wouldn't talk in my ear. At least he was being courteous enough not to talk in my ear even though he was annoyed that he was stopped.

But Danny didn't budge. He stood his ground and said, "We're in a public place."

That brought a smile to the leader's face as he leaned back a little and looked directly at my face, his lip curling into a smirk at my scared expression. "This is true." Then a thought occurred to him and his smirk turned into a lust filled smile as he declared, "Let's go to the house. That way, we won't be interrupted and then we can really get down to business."

At that moment, I glanced over at Danny and noticed something flash in his eyes.

'_Was that fear?' _I asked myself, wondering if I had imagined it because whatever it was that was in his eyes disappeared.

"Ushio." Danny's voice had sort of a command sound to it and his voice was solid. He grabbed his leader's shoulder once more and this time, he didn't let go.

Ushio turned and glared at his gang member. A moment or two passed and it seemed like they were having a heated discussion, not with their mouths but with their eyes. Tension was thick between the two.

As the two were preoccupied with one another, I took the time to see if there were any escape holes that weren't blocked. But, like before, there was none. You would have to be the size of a cat if you wanted to escape and no matter how small I was, I wasn't that small.

Finally, the pressure from Ushio's hand on my chin vanished and I was allowed to move my head. "Fine." Ushio spat and his hand slid out of my shirt and away from my all together. He took a step back and Danny dropped his hand. The leader of the gang looked to his goons and said in an impatient tone, "Let him go." His men did as he said and parted to make a space.

Even with Ushio allowing me to escape, I could still feel the tension in the air and knew this wasn't over, not just with me but with Danny too.

I didn't need to be told twice. Without a further glance at anyone in the group, I ran out of the alleyway we were in and took a sharp left. It was just after school so the streets were crowded with people. I had to be careful to dodge people and students as I ran home. And if I hurried, I would be able to make it back home in time to open the shop and be safe from bullies.

I never stopped running, not even when it felt like I would die from lack of oxygen in my lungs and the burning sensation that appeared in my legs. I pushed myself because if I had stopped or walked, I knew something bad would happen and I wasn't looking forward to any of that.

"Excuse me!" I said when I ran past a couple holding hands. I heard the girl yell something unintelligent at me but I choose to ignore her; it wasn't worth to listen to.

Finally, I reached my street. I only slowed down when I came in front of the closed game shop. I sighed in relief, feeling my heart race in my chest, going hundreds, maybe even thousands of miles per hour. I fished for my key from my pants pocket and stepped up to the front door where in one fluid motion, I slipped the key into the slots and unlocked the door. Once I entered the shop and closed the door behind me, I flipped the lights on and turned the sign from 'Closed' to 'Opened'.

Taking my time, I walked over to the door behind the counter that led to the house and walked in. I went to the kitchen for a bottle of water and then upstairs for my laptop and to put my back pack in there. This was my ritual once I got home from school and it was the day I had to open the shop. The water was to mask any growling coming from my stomach and my laptop was to keep my mind occupied instead of fall asleep or wonder. It was also so I could talk to my only friend I seemed to have.

I sat at the counter back in the shop with my needed things. My laptop was waking up from its sleep so I uncapped my water and took a huge gulp, thirsty from the running I had just did. My heart rate seemed to be slowly slowing down. Luckily, I wasn't out of shape, otherwise I'd still be panting and gasping for air.

Once my computer was ready, no one was in the shop yet and wouldn't be for another ten to twenty minutes. The first thing I did was go to my Skype and opened it up. It immediately logged me on and I looked over to my friend's list to see who was on. There was only one person on and that person was the only person who I had talked to within the last couple of months.

Before I could even start closing some of the annoying pop ups, I received a message. Smiling, I clicked open the chat with my friend and read:

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Hey Game! Bout time you logged on. Where you been [5:34pm]

Game was a nickname I was awarded by my friend. When I had told him my real name after a couple of weeks of talking, he got curious about what it meant in his mother language, English and asked me what it meant. I told him and ever since then, he always called my Game.

Writing in English, I sent my reply a minute later.

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **Hey Dan! :) And sorry, been busy with school and the shop. [5:35pm]

I clicked enter and in less than a minute, he already replied back.

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **and bullys I assume? [5:35pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **Uh... [5:35pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Gaaaaaame! . [5:36pm]

I could almost hear him groan, even though I had never heard his voice before.

A few weeks after Yami and everyone started to ignore me, I tried to find things that kept my mind busy. Homework only went so far and I had already read every single book in the house more than once, including cook books and text books. So one day, I had gone onto the computer, looking for some interesting games to play when I accidentally clicked on an online chat. At first, I was going to close the page or go back to resume looking, but curiosity came over me and I looked around the page. Before I even knew it, I had joined one of the chats that seemed harmless to talk to someone because I was craving to talk to someone, even if it were a complete stranger.

I hadn't been in the chat for more than five minutes when someone popped up saying, 'Hi guest and welcome to the chat! My name is Dan and I will warn you before hand, I am the king of waffles.' I couldn't help but smile at that statement so I started to talk with him. And the next thing I knew, we had been talking for a couple of hours without even realizing it.

Quickly, I had told him that I needed to go because I had to go to bed. He told me to get back on at the same time tomorrow so we could talk more. I promised him before closing the screen. And the next day, I kept my promise and easily found him again on that chat room. After our second met, I gave him my Skype account so it would be easier to talk.

For the first couple of weeks, we kept quiet about our personal life. We didn't want information given out over the internet for security reasons, but after a while of getting to know him and he get to know me, we slowly opened up. The farthest we got was where you lived. My answer was in Japan while he lived in the United States, Texas to be more precise. Other than that, we didn't find out exact addresses. We had even talked about ourselves.

The more I learned about him, the more comfortable I got about saying things about myself. I found out that he is seventeen, like me; loved video games; liked guys the same way as I did; and loved to travel. His name is Dan (never gave each other last names) and he has one sister named Emily. They got along fairly well. He has both of his parents and has a dog named Duke that was a German Shepherd.

There were certain things I told him about myself and things I didn't. The things I didn't tell him had to do with the adventures I did over the last couple of years with Yami and everyone else. I did tell him about pretty much everything including my friend's ditching me. After have knowing me (through the internet) for a couple of weeks, he got a bit protective and didn't like that. He went on a long rant about friend's and that was when I accidentally let it slip about being bullied. Boy, did he almost blow a fuse.

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Man thoughs guys are just stupid. Hurting kids doesnt do anything.[5:37pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says:** I know... And you mean those** ;P [5:37pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Yeah yeah, spelling nazi. So, what did they do this time [5:37pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **…... I think Ushio tried to rape me. ... [5:37pm]

I could tell him almost anything, just like how I could tell Joey or Yami anything. Dan helped me and tried to sooth me if anything was upsetting me. I had even started to rant to him and he stayed on his computer and read through it all and gave me helpful advice and helped calmed me down. I could tell him anything.

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **WHAT? [5:38pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says:** But don't worry. One of the gang members stopped Ushio. I don't even know why he did it but he did. I don't think Danny likes Ushio... :/ [5:39pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says:** What do you mean? [5:39pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says:** Well, earlier today, Danny stopped Ushio from doing anything thing and they had this like silent argument going on between them. It was like a war between their eyes. It's hard to explain but that's what it was like. And if anything bad starts to happen, Danny tries to prevent it or something. [5:41pm]

As soon as I hit enter, the door opened to the game shop and the little bell over the door rung it's light noise. Someone had just walked in. I glanced up form my screen and found a group of young boys, probably in their very early teens, walk in. There were about four of them, all of them talking loudly to one another.

"So what're you doing this weekend?" I heard one of them ask his friends/

"Hi!" I greeted them and received smiles as they acknowledged me. Looking down for a couple of seconds, I quickly typed 'BRB' and pushed enter and looked back up. Dan would know what that meant and would know my response would be slow. Every time a customer was in the store, I would put my computer to the side and focus all of my attention on them, just like how grandpa had taught me many, many years ago.

A couple of minutes later, the group of boys left the shop with eight new packs of Duel Monster cards.

I smiled, remembering those days way back when I used to get excited about buying new packs of cards. Waving to the kids until they were out of the shop, I returned my attention back to the computer and said:

**Puzzle Solver93 says:** Alright, I'm back. :) [5:49pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says:** wb. First customers of the day? [5:50pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says:** Yup. 4 kids. [5:50pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says:** what they bye [5:50pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says:** You mean buy? lol xD [5:50pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says:** Whatever, . [5:51pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says:** They just bought some Duel Monster cards. ^^ [5:51pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says:** Sweet. [5:51pm]

When the clock hit eight o'clock, I stretched my stiff back. In the three hours that I had been sitting on the stool with my back always slouched over when only one was in the store besides me, a total of eleven customers came by but only ten had actually bought something. It was getting time to close the shop up for the night.

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **so how much you earn today [8:03pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **Uh... idk, a lot? :p [8:03pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says:** lol. probably more than 50. I say thats a great day for a sale. [8:04pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **I guess. It's going to be fun doing this again tomorrow though. x.x [8:04pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says:** hey, if u want I could stay up tomorrow so you have some1 to talk to and so you won't have to sit there starring into space waitin' 4 a customer to come.[8:04pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says:** but you need your sleep. [8:05pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says:** it's Saturday. Since when do I sleep on the weekends? ;P [8:05pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says:** lol, that is true. Well hey, I'm going to close the shop and get something to eat. Talk to you in 30. [8:05pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says:** k. Take your time. :P [8:06pm]

I closed the laptop and hopped down from the stool I was perched on. I took a moment to stretch the stiffness out of my limbs before I set to work on cleaning the small shop. Once everything was cleaned and rearranged, I closed and locked the door and turned the lights off. I walked back over to the counter and emptied the register out and placed it in the safe in the basement before coming back to gather my things and head into the house.

My stomach growled so loud that if there were anyone else in the house, I bet they would have heard it.

"What to eat..." I mumbled to myself after having set down my laptop on the table and went to the pantry to scavenge for food. After a couple of minutes, I decided on making Macaroni and Cheese for supper. I brought the box out into the kitchen and went to work on preparing it.

Once my meal was done and ready to eat, I poured the contents into a bowl and grabbed a fork. The dishes I dirtied up were already washed, dried and put back into it's original place so I didn't have to worry about them later. I grabbed another bottle of water, my dinner and my laptop and headed upstairs so that I wouldn't be disturbed by anyone, (even though I knew I wouldn't have been if I had just stayed downstairs).

In my room, I put my computer on my desk and took a quick bit of my streaming hot food. Then I quickly changed into my pajama's and sat at my desk and opened my laptop back up.

Eating my supper, I tried not to reflect on how I was eating alone and looked to an online friend for comfort.

**XxxxX Till next time! :D **

**I am just giving you a heads up now, There will be more talking online with Yugi. Maybe not a lot, but there will be more. And some info, Yugi types normally while Dan types half and half. I try to make it seem like he's talking like how everyone texts nowadays. I have trouble with it because I'm like one of the 20% who types everything out when texting or on computers. (Writing stories do that to you, xD) **

**So, tell me if there's anything I can improve on or something you did or did not like. Comments, questions, concerns, I the right person to bring them too! :D **

**I know y'all are smart enough to figure it out, but just in case you can't, where are the abbreviated word's meanings while Yugi is talking to Dan:**

**BRB- Be right back**

**wb- welcome back**

**lol- laugh out loud**

**IDK- I don't know**

**XD, ., :), :/, ^^, :P. x.x- Just faces for emotions**

**Reviews:**

**AK- Awww, thank you! I'm really glad you like it! :) And updating will be hopefully -crosses fingers- be every two weeks because I'm trying to finish up my other stories. But don't worry, I'll be updating a lot soon! x3 Thank you again!**

**Skelly-ton-key: Why thank you! :3 I try to go in depth with my stories because I'm trying to branch out more. And to answer your question, it's only as bad as me loving to write Yugi being tormented. ^^ So no, I don't think so. ;) And don't feel bad about it; I know a whole lot of people who love reading AND writing it! (Me included) ^^ Thank you again! And I'm glad you liked it!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! The next chapter is out…**

**Lisa: Yup…**

**Enjoy! **

**Lisa: If you have the guts too. **

**Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Nor any of its characters, just my own**

**Warning: Cussing, abuse and yes, there is a rape scene in here.**

**Chapter Four**

A week had gone by and things were still the same as before. I did manage to accidently bump into Malik and Ryou as I was headed to the store for light shopping, but they ignored me and treated me like they would a stranger. No, even worse than a stranger, whatever that would be. They just continued on walking like I wasn't even there.

It was just after school let out and I was staying after to help clean up some classrooms. I didn't have to open up the shop today and I didn't want to go home and be bored sitting around and do nothing since Dan had to do something today (told me yesterday that he wouldn't be on) so I decided to stay and help the student council clean up a bit. Normally, all of the students, whenever it was their turn, would clean the school but the Student Council was giving the students a break. It was nice of them, but it was still a lot of work.

"Hey, Yugi," the secretary in the council called over to me. He was sweeping up dirt into his dustpan while I was mopping the section he had just swept.

I looked up from the wet floors, "Yeah?"

"After that, you should head home." He said. "We are pretty much done for the day and it's only us two left." I looked around the room and realized he was right. No other student was here. "Everyone had gone home ten minutes ago." He added when he noticed my confusion.

I nodded my head, "Alright. And I'm almost done." Looking to the clock on the wall right above the door, I realized we had been cleaning for a little over an hour. Time flies when you're not paying attention to it. I went back to mopping.

A couple of minutes later, I waved to the secretary as he had finished his job and had already put everything away. I watched him leave just as I was finishing up the mopping.

"Don't forget to lock the cleaning closet. Everything else, just leave because the janitors will get mad if you try to do anything else." He said and then left.

He left me alone with just my thoughts for company.

During school, I got through my classes without any trouble. My teachers called me out again after class and they asked questions about Yami, as if they didn't know already. But, I stayed calm and told them what I had told my English teacher, we were taking a break because of a big fight. They looked sad at that but I ignored them and put it out of my mind. I could have sworn that all of my teachers were getting together and were gossiping about me and Yami.

Surprisingly, I didn't receive any homework.

"We're about to go on winter break and even though you're far ahead of the rest of the students in your school work and your homework, I decided to spare you and let you just enjoy your break. I also decided not to give any of the other students' homework, so why would I give you any?" That was pretty much what all of his teachers had said to him and smiled. "Just enjoy your two weeks the break and relax."

I didn't really care that they wouldn't give me any work, but I did mind that I now had to find something to keep me company, something that would need to last me all of break. And our break started next Friday when today was only Monday. Almost two weeks until break and they were going to give out work. Yes, I was going to need to find something big to keep me busy.

I sighed in annoyance. I did have a suspicion that the teachers either hadn't graded my extra work and that they didn't want to spend all holiday grading, or they just didn't feel like finding the next unit for me and making copies. I thought the latter one.

The classroom was as clean as any student would be able to get it when I finished. I took the mop and the now dirty bucket of water to the cleaning closet where I emptied the bucket and put the items away. I made sure everything was in its place before closing and locking the closet up. Now I just needed to head back to the classroom I was just cleaning to grab my bag and I would be allowed to leave.

XxxxX

I was about halfway home. I decided to walk instead of ride the bus, praying Ushio had already gone home. It was well past the normal time he'd stay out so I should be fine. Besides that, he would have gotten bored waiting for me and left. He never did like to stay long.

Boy, was I wrong in thinking he had gone home.

I was nearing the alleyway that everyone knew Ushio and his gang usually met up at and stayed there to torment little kids. It was like their own personal alleyway and they always ran off anyone else that tried to claim it as their own. The one thing I hated about this particular spot that they claimed was it was halfway in between the school and my home, so I'd always have to walk by it. The only good thing that came out of it was I didn't have to run _as _far to get home.

As I continued to walk, I kept my head looking straight forward while my eyes scanned the place for any bullies that could be lurking. So far I didn't see any, but I stayed tense. And not only were there so far no bullies running amuck, there wasn't anyone else around either. Probably because everyone was inside doing homework (since it was a school night) and/or eating supper with their families.

My hands on my backpack straps tightened and my heart pounded against my chest from nerves. I now started to pass by the alleyway entrance and it took me all of my willpower not to turn my head and look inside the dead end. Just as I was walking by the middle of the entrance, I saw something flicker in the corner of my vision. My heart sank as I realized what it was.

"We were wondering if you were ever gonna show up."

Instead of stopping to face my enemy, I simply took off running in the direction I was already headed in. If I got to the game shop without them catching me, then I'd be free.

A yell of annoyance was heard behind me and then loud footsteps that echoed off of the already quiet streets took off running after me. The bullies were giving chase.

I turned the corner of the street, thinking that I had a good lead. It'd be a piece of cake running from here to my house. If it weren't for the bullies coming back and always making me run for my life –literally with no pun attached-, I know I wouldn't have gotten back into shape. I know the P.E. coaches at school have started to take a notice of me while we're (the students in my class) running track. I've started to get better times on running and haven't been walking either. I can already see one of the coaches asking me to join the track team. All thanks to the bullies making me run.

Apparently, luck wasn't on my side today.

Right as I turned the corner, I barreled into somebody, causing us both to fall down.

"Oh, I am so sorry!" I said, ignoring the ache in my butt from falling backwards. I struggled to stand up so that I could help the other person up when I froze in mid-stand.

The other person easily stood up and dusted his legs and butt off of any dirt. "It's fine." He said.

"Yami," I whispered, starring at my only lover. He wasn't wearing his school's uniform nor did he have any of his school supplies with him, so he was probably going to hang out with the two people behind him. And speaking of those people, Yami didn't hear me because one of his friend's spoke.

"Dude, you never do watch where you're goin'," Joey laughed. Surprisingly, he was with his boyfriend, Kaiba. It was just him, Yami and Tristan walking around.

"Neither do you," Tristan commented and received a smack in the shoulder. He held his hands up in a surrender like stand and continued to laugh, "Hey, just stating the facts," he said.

Yami ignored me and rolled his eyes at his friends that started to bicker with one another like they always did. He walked around me, not even bothering to acknowledge or even glance at me. He ignored me like I wasn't even there, like I didn't just bump into him.

I could feel my heart break into even more little pieces. I really was a nobody to him now. At least he would see and acknowledge a stranger! But me? Something must have really happened for him to treat me as a nothing. What was it that caused him to be so cold?

"There you are!"

I jumped, completely forgetting about being chased. How stupid could I be to be standing in the middle of the sidewalk, thinking about my own problems when I could have ignored the person I loved most in the world and run home? But before I could start running again, I felt someone grab my wrist and yanked me backwards.

Losing my footing, I almost fell to the ground if it weren't for my tormenter catching me in the nick of time and holding me against him like he was holding a loaded gun to my head.

"Now you ain't going anywhere, Runt." He hissed into my ear as I struggled to straighten up, causing me to flinch.

I tried to pry his fingers off of my wrists and wiggle from his grasps to get free, but nothing was budging. I yelled as loudly as I could, "Get off!" But that only caused his grip to tighten around me. I kept wiggling and tried to jerk away but nothing was working; his grip was like iron against me. "Please, get off!"

"Ha! Why would I do that for?" Ushio laughed and his two buddies who had followed him laughed in unison. They were right behind him, tense just in case if I did manage to escape.

The tight grip around my wrist lessened but only to be replaced by my captor grabbing me around the waist for a better hold. I was about to yell at him again when something stopped me.

"Hey!" A familiar voice yelled from behind us. Ushio and his buddies turned around with me also being turned. "Let him go!"

My heart skipped a beat. Yami was maybe a yard or two away from us, glaring at the bullies. He didn't look to happy. But, for some reason, Tristan and Joey, who were maybe a yard behind Yami looked confused, like they didn't understand what was going on and why their friend was talking to other people. It was weird and confused me about their looks. Usually, when those two saw people bulling other people, they'd go to the unfortunate kid's rescue and stop the bulling from happening. Because they used to be bullies and knew what it was like for the kid to get hurt and be tormented (Because of how I explained it to them a couple of years ago), they tried to stop it from happening. So, why were they looking baffled about the scene playing out in front of them?

I turned my gaze away from to the two in the back to the man who told me he'd always protect me no matter what. My eyes filled with hope to see something familiar in those crimson colored eyes of his; recognition.

Ushio smiled, amusement displaying on his face as his blue colored eyes bore into Yami's. "And, why should I?" He asked with a lazy tone evident in his voice.

At that moment, Yami blinked and frowned. It was like someone just walked over there and slapped him in the face to wake up. His eyes lost that spark that filled me with so much hope and they were back to being cold and dull. He shook his head and had a confused look upon his face as he said, "Sorry, I do not know why I had said that."

From the corner of my eye, I saw one of the gang members on my right frown as he also looked confused and a little lost. He [the bully] could have sworn the other kid was going to fight them so they'd release the runt. But, that wasn't what happened. He wondered why Yami didn't care about what happened to the kid. Weird.

Seeming unbothered, Ushio shrugged his shoulders, "It's all good." He smirked on the inside. Like his members, he was a little lost on why Yami didn't do anything more, but hey, he wasn't going to ask questions; it would ruin his plans.

"Yami!" I cried out. Tears sprang to my eyes and I couldn't stop them from flowing down my face. I didn't understand. Why would Yami just leave me like that? He actually noticed me and gave me hope. But, then he took that away. Was he meaning to do that, to break me even further? Did he enjoy seeing me think that he would help?

Said name ignored me as he turned around. He walked over to his two friends who didn't even give me a last look as they turned around too and walked away.

If Ushio didn't have a firm grip around me, I know I would have collapsed. My legs had gone numb with sorrow and my eyes were to blurry to see anything.

"Heh, sucks to be you," the leader smirked once the other three were out of sight. I didn't say anything as I walloped in my depression of how he truly hated me.

"Ushio," one of the guys said. He was looking around, noticing a few people were on the streets were gawking at them like they were on display, "Let's get back; we're way to much in public."

The leader nodded his head and in one fluid motion, he brought his hand down on the back of my head. Darkness swarmed around me as I became limp.

**XxxxX WARNING! RAPE SCENE STARTS HERE! XxxxX (And this is my sister's writing so it's a bit different)**

I abruptly woke up to a pounding headache. Ushio knocked me out pretty good, it seemed, by the way it hurt to even open my eyes. Gosh, why did he do that again? What a jerk. Well, at least he didn't do much else to me -.

"Ah, is our little friend awake? Damn, thought you'd never wake up."

At hearing his voice, my eyes snapped open. Immediately, I found myself in a rank-smelling alleyway littered with trash of all sorts; from rolled/ scrunched up papers to rotten and decomposing foods. It stunk to high heavens, I swear! But, seeing that I wasn't alone, I knew that the trash was the least of my concerns. Crap. What was this, gang up on Yugi day? What did the bullies want to do with me this time? They never knocked me out first.

I looked around at the guys, but made sure to keep Ushio in my sight at all times. They were all standing around me while I was slumped down on my ass, leaning against a grimy and nasty building wall. And was it just me, or was there a breeze? Stealthily, I chanced a glance downwards, only to gape openly at my body a moment later. I was completely in the nude, but how? _Why? _When had this happened?

A blush stained my cheeks and snickers sounded around me. I looked up and found each bully presenting me with a lewd sneer. I couldn't help it, my blush darkened in utter humiliation. I pulled my knees up to my chest to hide my body, wrapping my arms around my legs and lowering my face to my knees as I tried for a weak scowl aimed at the guys before me.

"Where are my clothes?" I demanded pathetically, wincing inwardly at how pitiful I sounded even to my own ears.

"Right here, Runt," one of the bullies taunted, a boy to which I couldn't remember the name of. He held my clothes up before my eyes, sneering at me. They were bunched up in his hand, dirty and looking as if someone had thrown them in the dumpster.

"Give them back." My arms lightened around my legs as I scowled at him. However, the scowl dropped when the guy brought out a lighter from his pocket and held it below my clothes. "Wh-what are you doing?"

"You don't need 'em." A different guy said, another person who I couldn't remember the name of.

"No… He really doesn't, huh?" Ushio dropped down to a crouch right in front of me, smirking as he looked at me. "Go ahead, Buddy; let them burn." He never took his eyes off of my face.

"No!" I perked up as if to uncurl myself to get up and snatch back my possessions, but it was too late. They guy who held my clothes lit them ablaze and I sat there and watched in horror as my clothes were dropped to the ground, a small fire burning them to ashes. Yet taking my eyes off of the attention whore we all know as 'Ushio' was a mistake. Taking your attention off of him was like looking away from a ticking bomb. Take your eyes off of it for one moment and next, it'll be blowing up in your face if you're not quick enough.

Unfortunately, that described Ushio a little too well. I saw it coming in the edge of my peripheral vision, but I had no time to dodge his fist of fury. His knuckles slammed across my face so hard I tasted blood in my mouth.

"You care more about the clothes than your own safety, little Yugi? How pathetic. Maybe that'll teach you to never look away when I'm talking to you." Ushio said as the other bullies laughed at my expense. The bully crouching in front of me cracked his knuckles, smirking at me as I, after letting my legs go, nimbly pressed a hand to my stinging cheek, my amethyst eyes now trained on the blue ones of Ushio's. If I was showing any pain on my face or in my eyes, I didn't know. Either way, the guys all laughed at me. They laughed harder when Ushio grabbed a fistful of my hair and roughly tugged me forwards, causing me to catch myself on my hands on the nasty, germ and trash-ridden ground. "No, I don't think that little smack to the face taught you anything…" I heard him huskily whisper. "I think I need to give you another lesson… A harsher punishment, hm?"

I opened my eyes, wincing at the feeling of strands of hair being pulled out by his extra tight grip. Tears gathered at the corners of my eyes at the pain and the humiliation at such a vulnerable position I was in, but what came next was even worse. Ushio shoved me away by using my hair as leverage, only letting go the last second so that I fell onto my back. Then, he grabbed me by my naked hips and forcibly turned my body around so that I was now face down to the icky ground.

"Wh-what?" I stuttered in panic, getting up to my hands as I tried to look over my shoulder, but before I could lock eyes into him, he shoved me forwards. I yelped as my face rammed into the grimy, stone hard wall and winced at the crunch I could literally feel as my skin rubbed down the roughness. Crap that hurt like crazy. My eyes shot open and another yelp sounded from my mouth when rough hands grabbed my bare hips again and moved them up, making it so that my position was me standing on my hands and knees.

Ushio kept his hands on my narrow waist as he kneed the back of my legs, parting them to show off my ass in plain sight. I whimpered quietly as I listened to his husky voice as he said, "You sure are a tiny guy, Yugi. You're a runt. So easy to pick on. That's why your bodyguard left you. Left you, Yugi, remember? That look on his face was priceless. He's tired of looking after you, Runt. You're a burden; a waste of time. He doesn't love you anymore." One of his hands left my hips and he used it to grab a fistful of my hair again. "What do you think of that, huh, Runt? Are you scared? Do you feel lonely?" With my hair as leverage, he pulled my head back and slammed my face against the wall, keeping my face there smooshed up against it.

I cried out at the pain but said nothing at the guy's cruel words. What could I say? He was right. Without Yami, I was utterly alone. By best friend… my lover… I probably was just a burden to him. My eyes stung from the tears as I cracked my eyes open, looking through squinty eyes to the left, but not really seeing anything through a blurry sight. Yami had had enough by the looks of things. For God's sake, he _left _me to the bullies! If that didn't tell me he was tired of it all, then I didn't even want to know what else. Leaving me to the bullies' wrath, to their mercy… It couldn't be any worse. The words from my beloved about him always protecting me were washed right out of me. Nothing could be worse than that. And if they could prove me wrong, Ra, help me through this. Please.

"Hey, you little fucker. Are you listening to me?" I cried out again when Ushio slammed my face against the wall once more. "God damn, Runt, you are so pathetic it makes me want to laugh." The hand in my hair tightened and I felt the teen behind me press up against my backside, something hard between my ass and him. I froze up in shock and horror. That wasn't… was it? Oh, Ra, please no. "Maybe it's time for the real punishment, eh?" Ushio asked in a daunting way and then I felt his other hand leave my other hip. The sound of his pants' zipper going down rung in my ears and I couldn't help but whimper in fear.

"U-Ushio… please…" I pleaded, my throat constricting around a huge knot as the tears finally freed themselves and began to make their descend down my battered and bruised cheeks.

"Please what, Runt?" The bully taunted as his free hand went down yonder, rubbing his palm against my butt cheeks. "Please get a move on with that I've got planned? Well, if you insist." He laughed teasingly as I struggled, though fruitless as it was with my attempts. He had me pressed up against the building and held on tight by my hair; unless I wanted a chunk of hair ripped out from my scalp and most of my face scraped up pretty bad I wasn't getting out of this position. Situation, even.

Then I felt the hand on my butt move further down. My eyes grew impossibly wide when I felt his fingers parting said cheeks and the hardness that had been pressed against me was now poking at my entrance.

"U-Ushio! Wh-what? You can't possible-!" I choked out, scared to death that he was going to… well, _do _it. I hadn't even known the guy was _gay! _Or… was he just doing this to fuck with me? Pardon my French, but that was probably more possible in this case. He just wanted to hurt me. This was just like any other day. But unlike those other times, he was crossing the line.

I wanted to tell him to knock it off. I wanted to reach up and grab his hand to try and detangle his fingers from my hair. I wanted to actually cuss him out for putting me in such a humiliating situation. But I couldn't. Not because I was weak, but because I felt Ushio move his hips back, his fingers still on my butt, parting them a bit. I was kind of confused. What was he doing? Was he going to move away? Was he going to let me go?

No. He was indeed not going to do any of that. Instead, he slammed his hips forward and in doing so, penetrated the inside of me dry. A scream ripped out of me that I couldn't help but utter. The pain, the suddenness of the motion, the goddamn _agony,_ it was excruciating. And no way did it stop there. Oh, no. Ushio had groaned, moaning something about the tightness, then quickly pulled himself back out and rammed right in again.

I wailed loudly, tears streaming down my cheeks. My body felt torn. Like I was being ripped in two from the ass up to my spine. It hurt, it was raw, I couldn't describe the horrible sensation. And Ushio just kept going. In and out, in, out, in, out. I was burning up like he'd injected fire into my veins. I moved my hands up to the wall I was shoved face first against and scraped my nails across the stone bricks, my eyes squeezed shut and still pouring with tears.

"St-stop, please!" I begged, sobbing and screaming, unable to breathe properly as my hips were grabbed so hard Ushio's fingers probably left marks. He still had a hand in my hair; it didn't look like he was going to let go anytime soon. "U-Ushio! God, please stop! Please! I-I can't take it any… anymore!"

A breathy bark-like laughter sounded from directly behind me and the bully ramming his dick forcibly into my body repeatedly growled out saying, "You like that, Runt? Like my cock up your ass? Yeah, I bet you do. I bet you love it." He did a particularly hard thrust and at a different angle, hitting a spot that sent white hot fire up my spine and stars filled my vision. I cried out loudly and whimpered quite pathetically as he paused in his ministrations. He pulled my head back at an awkward, painful angle and I felt his lips next to my ear, his hot breath fanning my sweaty skin. "You know what else, little Yugi? I bet you like to suck cock. Hm? Are you a cock sucker, Runt? Heh, heh, let's find out, huh?"

"Mf!" The noise flew out of my mouth as the bully pulled his anatomy out of my wet butt. I didn't understand why it was wet though. Pain, yes. I understood that crystal clear. But wet? Was I bleeding? Then I yelped out when Ushio flipped my body over, uncaring to how my body seemed to scream in agony at the abuse. I slide down the building wall and dazedly glanced up at the bully, who was the only person, thing, in my sight. He had had a sadistically smug smirk on his face. It was a pleased expression. Was he happy that he was hurting me so bad?

"Open up, Runt." Ushio taunted as he grabbed my hair yet again as he plopped down on my chest, his legs straddling my shoulders. His plopping down knocked the breath out of me, so I couldn't help but open my mouth to suck air back in. But by doing so, I also got more than I wanted. His disgusting wet with mine and his own bodily juices covered dick was shoved into my mouth and pushed so far back that I could feel him poking at the back of my throat. I gagged, but the feeling only grew worse. I chocked on his dick and the oxygen I sucked in and I started coughing on his pride and joy.

"Ow, geez! Watch your teeth, Runt!" The bully growled out, smacking my face with a fisted hand. He pulled his hips back some, so I grabbed that chance to greedily regain my breath, still couching. I grabbed his hips with both hands and tried to push him back more, but I was too weak. My trying to push him back merely gave him the cue to start fucking my mouth and he did so with great enthusiasm, grunting and moaning with each thrust down my throat.

What felt like hours later, but was probably only minutes, Ushio unloaded himself down my throat, once again successfully making me choke. He moaned in his completion as I spluttered and tried to –ugh, ew- swallow his nasty and bitter as hell essence without dying in the process. Then he finally, _finally, _pulled himself out and lifted his body off of my chest.

I gasped for air, my hands on the ground on either side of my head, and stared blearily at nothing in particular.

"Guys?" I heard Ushio's breathless voice. What he said next made my blood run cold. "Beat him down."

And beat me down they did. They came kicking and punching and I could do nothing but lay there and take it. I was boneless and tired, and in so much pain that I didn't know what to do. So, I just laid there and cried and took and punches and kicks…

**XxxxX Till next time! **

**So, how was it… o.o ? **

**Lisa: Kairi's sister wrote that scene… She has her own account too, her name is Shining-Dreamer if you're curious and liked her work. She writes yaoi and this was her first Yu-Gi-Oh! Scene. She writes to Naruto. So uh….. review? Tell us what you think? ….**

**Please do! (And yes, this is another cliffy! )**

**Reviews:**

**Skelly-ton-key: Of course you were acknowledged! ^^ I feel like since you took the time to read and review, you deserve a response from me. Only fair! Yes, I still can't understand why people think Texas is like that. (Though I find it funny, to be honest! :D) It's nice to know that I have some other Texan watchin' my back! ;D Thanks for reading! **

**(To a person who didn't leave a name.. o.o'') : Aww, thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it! **

**AK: XD I have to admit, I laughed when I saw your review. Thank you though! I'm glad you're enjoying it! :D :D :D :D I'll try to update as soon as I can!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I do apologize for the lateness of the chapter! (And I just realized it's been a month… A MONTH! I never realized that before…. Sorry guys.) Life has caught up to me… x.x**

**Lisa: She's just full of excuses, isn't she? Anyways, enjoy the chapter**

**Reviews:**

**AK: I can't say what is wrong because that'd ruin the surprise further on in the story. ;) And don't worry; Ushio won't get away with any of this, especially not his friends. I don't know exactly what I want to do yet, but something is forming. And it's not good. ;) Thanks for reviewing! I love your input of it all. And you don't really think I'd kill Yugi off, do you? X3 I will get him very close to death, but never killing. Hehe. **

**Kate: Thanks for reading! And sorry you had to wait a long time! . **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Nor any of its characters; I'm just borrowing the awesome idea from an amazing person! :D**

**Chapter Five**

Why? Why didn't he help? Was the only thing that haunted my mind at the moment. I couldn't get over the fact that my beloved Yami, the person who used to care so much about me, let this all happen. He was only a couple of feet away from saving me from a horrible scene and yet, he decided to let this happen to me. He really had no more feelings left for me. None at all.

I was lying on my back, still occupying that stinking alleyway. My eyes were staring unblinking up at the night sky and watched as the stars twinkled everywhere. They had been out for a while, the stars. Maybe for an hour or so. I couldn't recall how much time had passed by or if any time had passed. My mind was too much in a haze and I couldn't sort anything out. My mind was almost in shut down mode to save my mental mind from all of the events that had happened. The only thing I felt was pain and the cold. The cold…

Slowly, I turned my gaze away from the sky and tilted my head to the side so my cheek was only a few centimeters away from the ground. Taking my time, my eyes sought out a pile of smoldering material. The fire had died a long time ago, but the smoke was still rising from it in thin lines. There was no chance that those clothes would be wearable. At least I didn't have to wash them now…

'_But… what am I going to do?' _I thought as a chilling breeze brushed against my abused and naked body. A violent shiver erupted from me but from the movement, so did a spark of pain. Almost like I was frozen, I curled myself into fetal position to be protected from the cold. How was I going to keep myself warm as the temperature continued to drop and how was I going to get home with no clothes?

I closed my eyes, feeling exhausted. Hot salty tears slide down my face and dripped off to the ground. The water trails had caused the cold to bite at my skin, but I paid no attention to it. I had been out here for a good hour or so, I was sure of it because the sun was gone and had been for a while. When I had regained consciousness after my beating, I was in complete darkness and it had taken some time to have my eyes adjust.

'_What do I do?' _I questioned myself once again. I couldn't stay out here for much longer without getting sick and I was already threatened if I had stayed. Before Ushio and his gang left me, they made sure I had a bit conscious left in me before saying if I stayed here and they found me in the morning, they would kill me. But, was that really a threat to me now? If he killed me, wouldn't he be doing me a favor? What more did I have left in this world to live for? I have no friends, no love, no family.

"So I should just die. Someone already offered to kill me and it would just be easier…" I quietly said to myself, ignoring the way my voice cracked and sounded strained from screaming a little a while ago. I closed my eyes and stared at the back of my eye lids. "No one would miss me if I left anyways…"

Time ticked on as I laid in a heap on the ground. I was shivering uncontrollably and found I couldn't feel my fingers anymore; they felt like popsicles. Blood and sweat were dried on my skin, making me feel gross and dirty, despite being in a dirty alleyway. The longer I laid there, the more I wanted to take a shower to have that clean feeling on me. But my mind kept reminding me that there was no point in going back home.

My tired eyes were closed and memories from my past flashed before me before I even had a chance to stop them. They pained me every time I brought them up, almost like they were teasing me because my life had gone downhill. I didn't have any willpower to stop them so I 'sat back' and watched them play out.

The first memory was of me and Yami. We were sitting on the couch at home watching some TV show that had been on for the last fifteen minutes. We were rather close to one another and at the time, we weren't going out. We were just really good friends trying to help one another in life. There was a comfortable silence between us. But as time ticked by, I remembered a feeling of nervousness enter my stomach. I had a crush on my darker half but never said anything because I didn't want our friendship to go away if he didn't feel the same way. And realizing I was sitting next to him with maybe only an inch or two of cushion between us, my cheeks started to feel warm.

I never had gotten to say anything after realizing that because without even looking, Yami's hand found mine and he took it and he squeezed it. The memory was one of my favorites because what happened next made my life.

Yami looked to me and told me in a loving, soft voice, "Yugi, I've been wondering how I should tell you this, but I think I finally know. I wanted to tell you that I love you and wish for us to be more than friends."

A lot more happened in that memory, but it was tuned out by the next.

Walking hand in hand down the street, Yami and I were headed to the park to meet up with Ryou and Bakura from a small picnic. Malik and Marik and Joey with Kaiba should be there a little later, saying they all had something to do first, but would be able to make it after they were done. It was Ryou's idea, claiming that all of us needed to go on one huge date. And just to make it fun and cheap (because not all dates need to be expensive), he decided that a picnic in the park would be one to remember. And boy was he right.

When we arrived at the grassy picnic area, a rather large blanket had been laid out with all sorts of food on plates and in containers on the blanket. A grill that was going but with no meat on it was a couple of feet away from the blanket and no one was manning it. The two people who were supposed to be watching it were sitting on the ground next to the food, though they weren't eating any of it. Bakura was sitting upright, leaning on his hands that were behind him while his eyes were closed and his head tilted to the sky. Using his leg as a pillow, Ryou was reading a book and was talking with his lover. They both were unobservant to their surroundings and didn't notice us walking up to them.

"Ryou!" I had yelled over to the other hikari the closer we got.

Both silver haired men looked up just as we arrived at the blanket.

Without bothering to get up, Ryou grinned at us and lowered his book, "Hey Yugi, Yami."

"'Bout time you got here." Bakura added as he watched us sit down on the blanket. A scowl was set on his face.

I rolled my eyes and ignored the last comment. Somehow I knew it wouldn't be worth it to get in an argument with him today. The day was just too nice to. Instead, I turned to Ryou and noticed the book he had laid on the ground next to him. "Why are you reading that book? We won't be starting it for another week or two."

"Just wanting to get a little ahead," Ryou shyly smiled. "You know I never can anymore." He raised an eyebrow and I quickly caught on with my own smile. Having Bakura as your mate left you no time to read. He always wanted to do something and not sit on the couch and read 'picture-less books', as what he called them.

"Any word on what time the others will be arriving?" Yami asked as I leaned into him. He put an arm around my waist without thinking about it and leaned a bit into me as well.

Bakura rolled his eyes, "What, do we look like messengers to you?" He asked.

"Kura," Ryou tilted his head upwards and frowned at his dark. Said name looked down at his lover, still scowling from before.

"What?"

"Be nice." He answered and pushed his lip out just a bit to look like he was pouting.

As the two love birds continued their chat, I shifted my head just a little and kissed my own dark on the cheek. "Does it really matter what time they get here?" I whispered and kissed his cheek again.

Yami moved his head to look me in the eye and had a thin eyebrow risen with an amused look. "No, not really." He said and pushed his lips till they met mine. "As long as we can continue this." I smiled against his lips and kissed him again, loving every moment of it.

Not even three minutes later, Bakura and Ryou had gone from a light conversation to a heated argument about stupid things to making out. But, it wasn't anything new since they always did this. It was just something they found comforting and the same.

By the time I pulled back for some air, I felt a little woozy in the head as my cheeks flushed. I was lightly panting but had a grin on my face. Yami looked the same and he opened his mouth to say something. But he never got the chance because I leaned into him again and kissed him with more love.

As we kissed, I saw something move from the corner of my vision. Not wanting to look alarm (since this was a park and people could be walking around) I turned my head a little to the left like I normally would. Our kiss broke but Yami didn't seem to care as his lips met my lower jaw and he kissed his way down to my neck. My skin caused goose bumps along my arms like it always did and I felt the light ticklish motion wanting to be known. No one knew except for Yami since he was always with me, but I was ticklish everywhere. So every time we went out for a make-out section and his lips weren't on mine, I always felt like pulling away while laughing.

Anyways, back to the movement I had seen. Trying my hardest not to giggle and pull away, I looked around the grounds in wonderment of what I had saw moved. My eyes scanned everywhere but I couldn't find anything. No squirrel or dog were anywhere in sight and the wind wasn't blowing so no leaves or anything was falling down. Shrugging, I made a move to go back to making out with my boyfriend when I suddenly felt a presence behind me. I only had enough time to tense up before cold wet stuff fell on both me and Yami from above.

Immediately, Yami pulled back and, even though he was dripping wet, looked to where two people were standing behind me. He had the look of death in his crimson colored eyes and he being drenched by water didn't help him look any less imitating.

Just before Yami could say anything, the sound of dumping water could be heard again, followed by a very pissed off yami, "What the bloody hell?" Bakura yelled as he and Ryou jumped apart from each other, both of them soaked to the bone just like Yami and myself.

"That's what you both get for making out in public." An amused voice said, followed by many voices of laughter.

I turned my head to get a better view of the people who dumped water on all of us and just rolled my eyes. Typical it'd be these four to cause trouble. Duke and Tristan were standing behind me while Malik and Marik were behind Bakura. In each one of their hands were huge orange water coolers that would be used for athletes in games. They were tipped upside down with water dripping out of it. And all of them were laughing, having dropped the water coolers to clutch their sides.

"That was so freakin' funny!" Malik added after Duke made his comment. He had tears in his eyes from laughing to hard and had an arm resting on his boy friend's shoulder to steady himself.

"I'm going to kill you!" Bakura yelled his face red and swelled in anger.

"And I will follow your lead… for once!" Yami echoed him, though his face was a bit calmer than the thief's. Together, the two yami's rose to their feet.

"But first," Duke said, calming down enough to smirk and looks like his old joking self again, "You'll have to catch us."

Bakura smirk and said, "Now that, shouldn't be a problem." And that began the great chase!

I didn't even have time to scoot next to Ryou –who was busy chuckling and squeezing the water out of his hair- to watch the entertainment run around when I suddenly felt arms around me, scooping me up in bridal style. I let a squeak of alarm out and was about to yell when a familiar Brooklyn accent laughter filled my ears, followed by him yelling.

"Hey, Yami! I hope you don't mind your hikari getting kidnapped!" Said name stopped running and looked over to where Joey had me in his arms. When I looked up, Joey had a big grin plastered on his face. I looked back over to my other half and found him torn between killing Duke and the other two and saving me.

"Hey, don't I get a say in this?" I asked, trying my hardest to pout and not laugh. I crossed my arms against my chest and stared up at Joey.

My best friend grinned down at me, his hazel eyes showing amusement. "Nope. Sorry, Yuge, but you're the victim here. And no victim gets any say when they get kidnapped."

"I'll say." Both Joey and I looked over to our left and found Ryou in Tristan's arms. The poor albino teen's face was almost as red as a tomato and he hid his face in his hands.

Tristan just grinned and shifted his friend's weight to get a better hold on him.

"Hey! What're you doing with my hikari?" An angry voice shouted as he stopped his mad chase after Marik and turned around. "What the hell is going on today?" Bakura yelled as he started his walk over to where we were.

"Yes, what is going on?" Ryou asked and managed to look up to his 'captor' for an answer.

Tristan looked over to Joey who just smiled and did a sloppily shrug. "We're just having a bit of fun today." He said. "We somehow knew you four would be here and be making out so we wanted to play a little prank on you guys."

"And that would be…?" I prompted and looked over to find Yami calmly walking back over.

"How far your boyfriends would go swimming for you guys." Tristan answered.

It didn't take long for that answer to register in both mine and Ryou's mind as we realized what he meant by that. But, we both only managed to yell 'what' in unison before Joey and Tristan took off running in the opposite direction they were facing. They were running towards the bridge where a very deep lake waited underneath.

"You can't be serious!" I yelled as I struggled to get out of the blonde's grip but to no avail. I was half terrified half amused with taking a plunged down into the water. I knew Joey and Tristan didn't mean anything by it to get hurt, if that's what you're thinking. They both knew it was safe because teenagers always swam in the lake and jumped off the bridge. They were just having a little fun. And to be honest, I thought it was a fun idea.

From beside us, Tristan kept pace with Joey fairly easily as he carried Ryou. He just chuckled and said, "Of course we're serious! This has to be a time to remember!"

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

I stole a glance over Joey's shoulder and found a rather pissed off Bakura running after us with a still calm Yami in pursue. By the look on my lover's face, he already guessed what was going on and was just going along for the ride. Smart man, that guy.

…

That memory ended for me as a small sigh escaped from my lips. That day, I could remember as clear as day. After Joey had thrown me and Ryou into the water and our darker halves came to our rescue, we all played and swam in the water. Kaiba, who had been filming the whole thing from afar –after much pleading from Joey- joined in by sitting by the water. He didn't feel like getting wet, although that didn't stop Joey from splashing water on him.

"The good ol' days," I whispered to myself and opened my eyes back up. I stared at the wall a couple of yards away from me. It was too dark to actually see anything, so pretty much I was just staring into darkness. But, that didn't bother me.

Letting my mind roam over the few memories that came to my mind, I started to wonder if I would ever be able to have that sort of life again. A life where I could be loved and love right back. A life where I wouldn't be ignored and hated and where I could live carefree.

'_What am I thinking?' _I thought bitterly. '_I thought I already decided to stay here and die. There's nothing left for me…' _But the thought of finding a new lover –since my old one completely didn't care about me and the more that I thought he'd get over himself and go back to being the man that I fell for, the more I realized that was a fantsy - seemed to spark my interest. From the feelings and appearance that Yami had been showing me over the last couple of months had finally just dawned on me that maybe he just really wanted me out of his life altogether. That's why he had been pretending I was never there. He just cut all ties because he wanted me to figure it out by myself.

"A-and you know what?" I whispered, feeling a little anger build up inside up me; though it wasn't enough to really notice. "I'll finally a-a-accept that. He d-doesn't want me any… anymore… I see that. And I'll g-grant h-his wish and w-won't dwell on the past. I'll… I'll move forward…" Not knowing why, I used what energy I had left to uncurl myself and started to pick myself up.

The winter wind blew hard at that moment and I winced against it. But no matter how hard it blew or how cold it was, I kept going. Not even the cold was going to stop me. And if I was about to give in, I only thought about the game shop and its warmth and my bed. I thought about if I could make it home, then I won't have to worry about the cold.

"I'll… I'll make it h-home. I-I won't d-d-die here. I'll l-live on and s-show h-him that I-I don't ne-need him. I-I can take c-care of my… myself." Ushio's words filled my head as I gritted my teeth and struggled to stand. His words made an impact on me about Yami and his words seemed to make sense. Yami _had _to be tired of looking after me. I _was _a burden to him. I knew that needed to stop. And this was how I was going to show him… to show everyone that I didn't need to be looked after like a little child and I wouldn't be a burden.

I paused and held onto the brick wall for support as I gasped for oxygen. My whole body was screaming pain at me from all of the abuse I had endured from when Ushio and his gang were here. No doubt I had more bruises on me than before, especially in areas that I wouldn't be able to cover up. The gang had no pity or mercy when they started their beating.

After calming by ragged breathing, I started to move again. I ignored my moaning from the pain and stiffness and from the cold. I was on a mission now. A mission where my life would change. I had to get home… that was step one. And once I did, I would take a shower and go to bed. Thinking about my bed, the warmth it would provide me, made me ache for it.

"J-just concentrate on… ge-getting home…" I forced myself to my feet where I paused for a second. I started to waver, even though I was standing still. My vision blurred and black dots appeared in my eyes. I continued to hold on to the building for support. If it weren't for that wall, I would still be on the ground, unable to move.

After what seemed like eternity, my head stopped pounding and it didn't feel like I was about to faint. I took another deep breath and started in the direction of the entrance of the alleyway. I passed by my burned clothes, not thinking anything of it and almost walked by my backpack where it laid all still intact a yard or two from where I had been laying. Without thinking much about it, I bent down –having to bite my tongue from the pain- and scooped my bag up. Then I continued on.

"I'll c-c-c-change for the b-better. And e-everyone will see… that I'm n-not some weak k-kid." I still didn't know how I was going to be able to do that, but I pushed that towards the back of my mind. If I thought about that now, it would only cause another headache to form and to be honest, I really didn't feel like I would survive if I received another one. So I just concentrated on getting home. I ignored the fact that I was naked and dirty and littered with blood all over me. I ignored the fact that I was limping and moving even slower than a turtle. I didn't care about all of that. I just cared about getting home and forgetting everything that happened. Was that too much to ask for?

**XxxxX**

**Till next time. **

**Okay, before I let you go, what did you think? I really need to know because I don't know if I did that right or if it makes sense. So please tell me! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! **

**Lisa: And this is for you anonymous readers! **

**If you tried to review last chapter but couldn't, I deeply apologize! FF was being a turd and apparently changed all of my alerts for everything to like not allowing certain things to happen and such. I didn't appreciate that… -.- But, that's all fixed now. You can review again! ^^ If you want. Lol And some of you asked about the time frame in the story. I was thinking more towards eleven to midnight. I don't know why, but you usually don't see toooo many people out and about. **

**Lisa: And for everyone likes yaoi**

**My sister actually did post a YGO story. =O It's really cute so far. **

**Summary: The Lights and Darks are separated from their counterparts after accepting a generous offer from Kaiba Seto. They find themselves on different parts of a continent with people they thought they hated. Will they survive and adapt to these new life changes, or will they all spontaneously combust from the light/dark within? YYxY BxR towards the beginning but goes to BxY YYxR **

**Take a look if you want. As a reminder, my sis is Shining-Dreamer and the story is titled _Surviving With You. _**

**Without further ado, on with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Or any of its characters!**

**Chapter Six**

I don't know what it was that woke me up, but whatever it was, I didn't appreciate it. I slowly opened my heavy eyes only to be blinded by the sun that came through the cracks of my curtains. I blinked a couple of times and shifted my head away from the light, but as soon as I did, pain shot through me along with the stiffness in my neck.

"Gah!" I squeezed my eyes shut and for a moment, I was wondering why I was hurting. What did I do last night to be hurting like crazy right now? What – My eyes snapped opened and they widened as it dawned on me exactly what had happened last night. Getting beaten up and raped…

A mental image of Ushio appeared inside my head and I recoiled away from it. As hard as I could, I blocked the horrible picture out and tried to think about something else, something other than that horrible man. Luckily, it worked. Without even realizing it, my eyes sought out my alarm clock and seeing its beady red numbers glare at me, a feeling of panic swelled up inside me. At least that was better than my fellow classmate…

"Crap!" I squeaked as I struggled to sit up in my bed. It was already three-thirty in the afternoon… on a school day!

The moment that I lifted myself up in bed, was the moment that I had just remembered that I was in pain. But, it was too late. As soon as I had moved, the pain hit me like a brick wall; hard and all at once. I couldn't help but let a loud gasp out as tears filled my eyes. I immediately curled up while sitting up, wishing the pain would go away.

"Ooh… Why is there a such thing as pain?" I mumbled and felt the pain leaving me. For now.

I stayed hunched over on my bed and struggled to breathe through my mouth. I knew that the only way for the hurting to go away was to lay still but I didn't feel like doing that, I needed to get up and do something. (The panic made me want to move around). '_And just think,' _I thought as I lifted my eyes up from my bed sheets to look around the room. '_I have pain killers in the bathroom. One of those and I'll be numb and not feeling anything for a couple of hours.'_ That thought alone led me to slowly uncurl myself and start to get up.

Deciding that I was already in too much pain to even move, I wasn't going to be going to school today. I apparently already missed…. A day? No, a day and a half including today of school, what was one more day to miss?

I was able to swing my legs over the side of my bed and shift my weight to make it look like I was about to push myself up. But before I did that, I sat there for a minute to gather my bearings. And as I was looking down at myself, a light trace of a blush emerged on my face. Apparently, when I had gotten home last night, I took a shower but never got dressed. Why I say that is because I was starring down at my lower half which was sloppily wrapped up in a soft towel. You couldn't blame me though; as soon as the water was turned off, I almost fell from exhaustion.

"Lovely…" I took the next couple of minutes to stand up and walk carefully over to my closet. It was slow going with barely any movement, but I made it there in one piece, all the while holding on to my towel to ensure it didn't fall.

After changing into a pair of boxers, I grabbed a black tee-shirt from a hanger and walked over to the mirror to get a glimpse at how bad of a shape I was in. Looking into the mirror that reflected my image, I let my expression go blank and my mind go to a stop. My chest was pretty much black and blue that there wasn't a spot on my upper half that wasn't a different shade. I was about to look away from the image, after only seeing my upper half, when something on my lower stomach caught my attention. My eyes dropped and my hand went to my stomach.

"I forgot all about you…" I whispered in a broken voice as my fingers lightly traced over the still sensitive broken skin where I received a new 'tattoo'. Last night, when I was in the limbo of conscious and unconscious state, I clearly remember feeling a pain unlike the others. It hurt more, almost like I was being cut up. And looking at my wound, that was exactly what had happened. Ushio had used a knife and cut into my skin. I knew it was him because what he carved were two letters: TU. That was his initials. It stood for Tetsu Ushio.

Tears filled my eyes as I continued to trace over the indentions of the cut. I wasn't crying because it was hurting, I was crying because he actually had the nerve to put his initials on me!

'_Now you'll always be mine.' _A voice seemed to remind me even though I wasn't even trying to recall them. He said that… Ushio told me that when he was carving into me.

I turned my head away while closing my eyes, wishing to forget the whole thing. But, I couldn't. For the rest of my life, I would have to look at this scar (once it heals) and it'll always remind me of the day I was rejected from my lov—_ex_-lover and the day I was raped. There was no escaping the memory now.

Without thinking about it, I pulled my shirt on over my head and walked away from the mirror.

XxxxX

I walked out of the bathroom feeling better than I did when I first entered –not because I took pain meds and could feel them start working- and made a move to go downstairs but instead, I walked back to my room. I didn't know why, but I just did. I went straight over to my desk where my laptop was closed and off. I sat down at the chair, being careful of my wounds to not aggravate them and opened my computer and turned it on. I had been out cold for the last day and a half and I could already imagine having many messages from Dan on Skype.

After a minute or two of waiting, the computer finally loaded and was already on its main page. Without having to click any button, my Skype account automatically logged me on and pulled up the instant messaging. And just like I had thought, on the left hand side where all of my contacts were, next to Dan's name had already seven unread messages.

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Game you there? [5:55pm Monday]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **….. Gaaaaaame? Yo! You there? You never take this long to respond. =/ [6:00pm Monday]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **alright talk to you later [6:45pm Monday]

_Dan Has Signed Off [6:46pm Monday]_

_Dan Has Signed On [5:37pm Tuesday]_

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **u there? [5:40pm Tuesday]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **don't tell me something happened [5:50pm Tuesday]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Game! [5:55pm Tuesday]

_Dan Has Signed Off [6:30pm Tuesday]_

I bit my lip after reading the messages from yesterday and the day before. I felt bad that I never responded to him, even though I was asleep. Some people would be annoyed by all of the comments, but not me, I was touched by them. He cared to wait for me every day and see if I was on. This was really the only time I've never been on like this and he was concerned.

Scrolling down, I found one more message that was from this morning.

_Dan Has Signed On [7:05am Today]_

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Yugi plz answer. Your scaring me. [7:11am]

Taking a deep breath, I clicked on the reply button and exhaled slowly. Then I began typing…

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **Sorry! . I kind of got held up in a little… situation. I apparently had been asleep all day yesterday and didn't wake up until just a couple of minutes ago. :p Sorry to make you worried, I didn't mean too. [3:34pm]

After reading my message over a couple of times, I nodded my head. There wasn't much more I could say without him blowing his mind. So I lowered my laptop's lid and stood up from my seat. As soon as I did that, a deep rumble echoed from my stomach, along with a hurting sensation coming from my stomach.

"I guess I'm hungry…" I said and laid a hand on my stomach, only to forget that I had a wound there. "Mm..." I bit back a yelp and just kept it to myself. I gritted my teeth, wondering why I put pressure if I was only touching my stomach. Shaking my head, I headed towards the door and left the room.

I managed to consume a small bowl of cereal –Frosted Flakes- and a small glass of orange juice in about twenty minutes. Despite my stomach growling at me for some food, I had to choke everything down because my throat kept closing up. And it all had to do with Ushio… god, that boy was tormenting my life and he wasn't even here!

Once I was done with my dishes, I stuck them in the dishwasher and looked to the clock for the time. It was a little after four. School would be getting out in half an hour.

'_What should I do… open the shop up now and be bored, or clean a little so the house doesn't look like a mess?' _I looked around the kitchen first and realized that it was already clean. There were no dishes in the dish drain to be put up and everything in the dish washer was dirty, but there weren't enough dishes to start the machine. The counters were cleaned and so was the table and floors. When I walked out of the room, the living room was the same way; cleaned and organized.

After pretty much checking the whole house to see what needed to be cleaned, I came up empty handed. It seemed that Yami had actually been cleaning and not lying around. The only thing I could find was my own laundry that needed major cleaning. Blood stains covered more than half of them and I didn't have any clean uniforms left for school tomorrow.

So I gathered the laundry basket from my closet and carefully balanced it against my hip before leaving my room. I walked to the laundry room –which was next to the kitchen- and began to sort through my clothes.

'_Ooh, so many stains.' _I thought referring to all of the blood stains on my school uniforms. I grabbed the _Shout _spray bottle and started to spray the clothing so help remove the stains. After throwing most of my dirty clothes in the washer and grabbing the last white shirt to spray it, I noticed that I was going to need to go shopping for more shirts soon. At least three of my seven shirts had tears in them and since it was part of a uniform, I had to get rid of it and buy a new one. Always had to look nice for school.

I was so focused on spraying the shirt and rubbing the suds in that I never heard anyone come into the house until voices reached my ears. I jumped about a foot in the air and accidently bumped by knees into the washer, causing a new bruise to most likely form. I rubbed my knees, silently cursing myself for being so skittish but then straightened up as the voices came closer to where I could understand what they were saying.

"What do ya mean?" A different voice asked that I could easily identify as Joey. You could never mistake his voice, ever.

Before I even knew what I was doing, leaned against the washer and stared at the wall, wondering what Joey was talking about and to whom, though I already had a guess in mind (since there was only one other person who was currently here in Japan that lived here). I held my breath and my hands clenched around the shirt I was still holding in my hands.

A noise like the sound of a bag being dropped on the stairs was heard, followed by the soft noise of a light switch being turned on. It came from the kitchen since the light filtered through the crack from the pantry door. Soft footsteps lightly tapped against the kitchen floor and before I heard anything else, I could already imagine Joey walking over to the fridge for a snack. Or in his case a meal.

"I don't know," Yami's voice was a lot closer than when Joey had spoken about a minute before.

I felt my heart squeeze from the puzzlement evident in his voice. Then I mentally slapped myself and frowned. Wasn't it just a couple of hours ago that I told myself that I was going to let him go and grant his wish to leave him alone? Why did I suddenly want to worry about him now?

Yami continued, "For a while now, it feels like I'm forgetting things. Not like forgetting my school books or homework, something more important than that." He sighed rather loudly and I could imagine him rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I'm trying to remember what it is that I am forgetting, but for some reason, nothing comes to mind. Does that make any sense?"

The sound of the fridge opening and someone started to rummage around in it. Then came Joey's voice, "Kind of. Do you have any idea what it is you're lookin' for? Like anything at all." There was a pause and then he continued, most likely getting an answer, "Then how do you even know what it is you're lookin' for?"

A sigh of frustration met the asked question. "That's what I want to know. Whatever it is that is missing, it's important. I know it is. But, I don't have any clue on what it is! I'm trying to figure out something that I have no idea on what it even is. It's like I'm trying to solve a puzzle in a dark but with the pieces all scattered on the outside of the room with no way of getting to it. It's driving me insane!"

"You're drivin' _me _insane by all of these confusing words." Joey said in a confused manner. He closed the refrigerators door, most likely already founding something to satisfy his growling stomach. "If I were you, I would stop thinkin' about trying to think of the impossible and just relax. You're thinkin' too hard on this matter. It'll come to you sooner or later; you just have to be patient."

Deep down as I listened, I was impressed. Joey could be a dimwit at times and act like a blonde, but he had his moments when he made sense and actually had words of advice. He could have a sensitive side and be very helpful. He wasn't all muscle and loud mouth as what most people thought. You just had to get to know him really well before you learn about his true self.

"Hey, do you have any mustard?"

And there goes his special moment. I rolled my eyes, seeing as how typical this was of Joey to ask and ruin a serious moment.

Yami chuckled, sounding a bit better than he had just a couple of minutes ago. "Did you check behind the vegetable drawer?"

The two went off topic about what they were going to be doing over next week since it was the start of winter break and we got two and a half weeks off. I tuned them out and went back to work trying to rid the stains in my clothes.

XxxxX

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **r u sure ur ok? [4:45pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **Yes, I'm fine. I just have a few bruises and a slight headache and I hurt all over. :P But other than that, I'm fine. [4:45pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **U take meds yet? [4:45pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **Yup [4:45pm]

I flexed my fingers to get rid of the stiffness that started to creep up in them. Thirty minutes had passed since I listened in on Joey's and Yami's conversation. They both were gone now, out with everyone else as I had stayed home and tended to the shop once again. And while I had opened the shop and tended to the customers that came by, I waited for Dan to log on to talk with him. Luckily, it didn't take too long. About ten minutes after opening the shop, Dan bombarded me with questions, asking me the same question all but ten times. He wanted to make sure I was alright and wasn't lying.

There was a pause in our conversation, not because of a customer or because he was busy, but because neither of us knew what to say. It was rare for a pause to occur when we were chatting with each other. Thankfully, they were never awkward, but they were frustrating at times. What do we say? We both are known to be random, but even with being random; I still didn't know what to say.

Finally, after starring at the screen for a couple of minutes, I bit my lip and typed two words…

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **Thank you… [4:49pm]

Immediately, he sent back his reply.

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **4 wht? [4:49pm]

I took a deep breath, feeling a little nervous for what I was about to say. I didn't know why, but I just did.

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **for caring. For being concerned about my well-being. You're all the way in America and you care about some kid in Japan. You don't have to, but you do. You always force me to tell you what's on my mind and what happened to me and we only know each other through the internet. Just… thank you. [4:50pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Your welcome Game. But you need to know that anyone would care if someone got hurt, even if they didn't know each other. [4:51pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **Not everyone [4:51pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **o.o OMR! I am so sorry Game! I didn't mean it in that way! [4:51pm]

I sat back a little on the stool I was perched on, trying to make sure I wouldn't get top emotional by his statement. A lot of people would be concerned in I got hurt, I understood that. But, it wasn't the people that I wanted to be concerned. Any besides that, if I told someone I was being beaten, those people would go mother hen on me and the police would get involved. But still, those weren't the people that I wanted to be concerned about me.

I shook my head. Again, why did I care if _they _were concerned about me? I thought I was supposed to be getting over them. It'll do me no good to continue to dwell on lost friendship. And besides that, they all seemed to move on just fine, so now, why haven't I?

Not giving myself time to answer that question, I typed out…

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **It doesn't matter. Just forget about that. [4:51pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **But Game… [4:51pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **Please just drop it. [4:51pm]

It was a little while before I got his reply.

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Alright…. [4:55pm]

For the next half hour, we talked and I dealt with the customers ranging from kids to adults. I even got some regular elderly folks that always talked with grandpa. When they realized he wasn't here, the browsed around for a while and only a few would buy something. When no one was in the store, I started to let my mind roam. And boy was that not a good idea. With the thoughts now in my head, I debated on how I should tell Dan. I could tell him anything and it usually helped me to get whatever it was off of my mind. But, how should I tell him? Or, more as type it to him.

As I debated on whether or not I should tell him now or wait until later, Dan, being a mind reader through the computer, asked me…

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Alright Game, whts wrong [5:33pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **what do you mean? o.o [5:33pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **I mean ur sidetracked. I can tell b/c ur barely talking [5:33pm]

Well, now that he brought it up….

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **Weeeeell… you wont like it . [5:34pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **probably not but try me [5:34pm-

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **…. [5:34pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **? [5:34pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **Last night…. I had thoughts of dying and… I kind if allowed it. I actually wanted to die…. . [5:35pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **What? Your aint having those thoughts now are u? [5:35pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **No…. I'm not. [5:35pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **So… y were u even thinking about these thoughts in the 1st place? [5:35pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **Well… it all happened because of what happened last night…[5:36pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **? [5:36pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **Last night, when I was walking home from school, I…. I was beaten by Ushio and his gang again…. [5:37pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Wht? [5:37pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **I'm not done yet.. .'' [5:37pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Oh… sorry.. :/ [5:37pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **I… I was also raped… by… him…. [5:38pm]

I waited for his reply, wondering what he would say. After a minute had gone by, I still hadn't received a reply. And then another minute. _'Maybe he's in shock,'_ I thought and chewed on my lip. I quickly typed more, hoping he would say something. He needed to say something. I wanted… no, I _needed _him to say something. Anything would be fine, as long as he said something. I guess I needed comfort since I didn't have anyone else to give it to me. And since he knew almost everything about me, I needed it from him.

Just as I started to type, Dan sent something.

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **What happened before that [5:40pm]

There was no emotion in his words and he spelled everything out. He always shortened 'what' with taking out the 'a'. No matter what, he always did that.

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **Well… I was walking home from school and… I was walking by Ushio's alleyway or whatever you wanna call it. It didn't look like they were there so… I walked by. But, they were there. I ran away but I bumped into someone. [5:41pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **And that someone was Yami… He… he didn't really say anything to me and walked away just as Ushio caught me. Ushio… he knocked me unconscious and… that's where the beating and being… well, you know… happened. [5:42pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Wait… you're saying Yami left you there for Ushio to do whatever? [5:42pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **Well, him Joey and Tristan… yeah. . [5:42pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **What the hell is wrong with them? They just let that happen to you! [5:43pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **I don't know… but it was half the reason why I was having those thoughts. [5:43pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **I know it's dumb to think about killing yourself just because your friends and boyfriend won't talk to you, but…It's hurting me. They won't even look at me or tell me why they're ignoring me. How the hell am I supposed to know what happened between us if I don't even know what happened? And what's worse is that they're supposed to be my best friends. Maybe that's why I'm having those thoughts…. Because it hurts even worse that the people I trusted with my life are hurting me more than what Ushio is doing. Is… is that bad of me, to have those thoughts because my friends practically left me alone to deal with myself? To make me an outcast without saying anything to me? [5:44pm]

I leaned away from the computer as I just spilled my thoughts out. Feeling the prickle of tears hit my eyes, I blinked a couple of times and looked away from the screen. There was no one in the shop so I searched for the clock. There was ten minutes before closing time. Since no one was here, I slipped off of my stool to get a head start on cleaning while I was waiting for Dan's reply.

I walked over to the door and turned the sign so the 'Closed' was facing the outside. I locked the door and left the light on outside since Yami wasn't home yet. Then I turned around and headed to start washing the counter and start sweeping.

Once I finished the majority of cleaning and still haven't received a response, I took the money from the register and locked it in the safe in the basement (because who would ever look in a basement? ;D). Once that was done, I was done with the shop. I picked my laptop up and headed out of the shop but not before turning the main light off.

Realizing that I wasn't really hungry, I headed straight upstairs to my room. Once there, I closed the door and walked over to my bed where I plopped down. I tried to get rid of the feeling of being alone out of my system by reopening my computer. And there it was; a response from Dan. The loneliness left my system –for now- and I read what he had to say.

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **The best medicine is not suicide, Game. You just need to forget about them and make new friends. Don't get me wrong, I know they're your best friends, but they're bringing you down to a level no friend should be brought down to. If they bring you down in anyway, they aren't your friend. I care about you and I'm tired of seeing you in pain because of them. I have to go now but promise me that you won't think about suicide again. I don't want to lose a friend. [5:59pm]

_Dan Has Signed Off [5:59pm]_

He was already offline before I had a chance to respond. But, as I laid down on my bed and stared up at my ceiling, I knew he was right on to stop thinking about suicide. But, he was wrong on one thing. No matter what they may do to me, I won't simply forget about my friends. I love them too much and they had been a great deal on why I even have friends now. They changed my life, I just can't simply forget about them.

I closed my eyes and felt a single tear escape from the corner of my eye.

**XxxxX Until next time! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Sup my readers!**

**Lisa: It's a rather short chapter and not much happens. **

**But, it's a very important chapter. **

**Lisa: Very important to the plot. **

**At the end, you might think it's a filler chapter, but it ain't. Certain things in here are suuuper important. **

**Lisa: And you'll see why in the future of the story. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Or any of its characters. Just my own. **

**Chapter Seven**

Today was different when you compare them to every other morning. Instead of getting up a few minutes before my alarm clock went off, like I did every morning, I got up an hour late. An hour! I never heard the stupid thing go off until I rolled over to get in a more comfortable position and my head was only a foot away from the clock. That was when the shrilly alarm noise cut through the haze of sleepland and woke me up.

I scrambled up in bed when I realized what time it was. Instantly, I regretted moving so fast as a dull and sore pain came back and hit me like a brick wall. But I had no time to register the pain as I threw my legs over the side of the bed and stood up. I limped my way over to the closet where I searched my closet for a uniform that I had cleaned and hung up yesterday.

Dressing as quickly as I could, I left my room and headed to the bathroom –which was empty- and ran a comb through my hair. I brushed my teeth and then splashed some water onto my face to help wake me up some more, though I think the alarm woke every nerve in my body up. I grabbed the towel from the rack and dabbed my face, careful to not aggravate the wounds on my face.

Once the water was gone, I stood there, looking into the mirror. There were no bruises on my face but there were the scratches left by the building when Ushio pushed me against it and left me there when he had his way with me.

"There's no way in covering that up…" I glumly said and turned to leave the room. Now I was going to be questioned by the teachers at school on how I got this wound. And I don't think using the excuse that I fell or hit something was going to work.

As I ran (or limped in a very fast way) down the stairs, I caught sight of the time and squeaked out, "I'm going to be late!" I grabbed my bag that was at the bottom of the stairs, having been there since I came home that one night, and then grabbed a spare jacket from the closet. I slipped into the slightly bigger sweatshirt and swung my bag on to my shoulders. With my keys in hand, I was ready.

I exited the house and locked the game shop up. As I stuffed the keys into my pants pocket, I felt the bitter wind nip at my exposed skin, immediately causing goose bumps to form on my arms. I rubbed my covered arms as best as I could and turned around. School was approximately ten minutes away when you walked and that was without traffic. I only had ten minutes to get to there without being counted absent. To arrive there on time, I was going to have to run because there was no way I was going to walk in one, this type of weather and two, when there was so many people out. Why were there so many people out today?

Not giving myself any time to answer my own thought question, I braced myself and started to run to school, as fast as my healing body would allow me.

XxxxX

"Mr. Mutou, you are late." Ms. Maki said without even turning around from where she was writing something on the board.

I seemed to be frozen by the door in which I had just closed behind me (and being as quiet as I could). I hung my head and stared at my feet. I was only five minutes late to the room but I still felt like it was a lot longer. In a soft voice, I told her, "I'm sorry. I woke up late this morning." I could feel everyone's bored gazes bore into my head. I started to fidget, being uncomfortable with all of the unwanted attention from my peers.

Ms. Maki turned around from the board and looked at me. I saw her nod from the corner of my eye. "Alright. As long as you don't make it a habit, you're off the hook. Go take your seat."

I nodded my head, and keeping my head down, made my way towards my seat in the way back. Just as I was passing by the teacher, I whispered my thanks and hurried on my way.

No sooner had I taken my seat, Ms. Maki started to speak. "I know most of you already have your thoughts on winter break." A few guys in the back yelled their agreements in which she paused and raised an eyebrow for silence. When everyone settled down, she continued, "That is why I assigned everyone no homework for the entire break." She let the whole class cheer before she got everyone to go quiet again. "But, be prepared to come back to school because there will be a project that will count as a major grade." She smiled at how everyone's faces dropped and there was a unison of groans from almost everyone in the room.

"What kind of project?" A girl in the front asked.

Ms. Maki smiled at the question and explained, "It's going to be a book project with a lot of research. Everyone will have partners and will be assigned a famous author. You and your partner are going to be required to do an autobiography and read one of their books. And before you start looking around the room for a partner, I have already assigned everyone one. "

For a minute there, I could have sworn she looked directly at me and winked before turning away. I brushed the weird look away, thinking my imagination was just messing with me –or the medication I was on to help with the pain- and looked down at my desk. It took all of my will power to not look to the right of me. All of my frie—_ex- _best friends were sitting in their seats, all looking to see who they wanted as their partner even though they wouldn't be able to choose. I had to rid myself of the thought that Yami wouldn't be my partner like he had been for as long as I could remember. Let's just hope whoever I'm partnered with won't make me do all the work.

I mentally shook my head and was just in time to hear a boy in the middle of the classroom yell out, "So who're we partnered with?"

The teacher gave us all a smudged look and said, "You won't know until you get back. Now on that happy note, let's begin our lesson today!"

XxxxX

The remaining of school went by slowly. I hadn't missed anything in my main courses the last two days so I was good on that. In Health, I found out that I missed the required CPR section and had to learn hands on in front of the whole class. That was something I didn't like and for the first two practices (in front of the class), the coach said I would have killed the victim. The third time I did it, I did it properly and now, I was certified in CRP (after I took the test which I passed with flying colors.) Other than that, I didn't miss a thing.

During each class I had went to, I found out that each teacher was doing the same thing Ms. Maki was doing; not giving out homework over the break. I was slightly confused, since this was the first time the teachers never gave us homework over a break, but never questioned it. The only thought I had go through my mind was what I was going to be doing during break if I didn't have homework to keep me occupied.

By the time the final bell rung for school to end for the day, I was already on my way to the door to leave the crowding hallways when someone yelled my name.

"Mr. Mutou!"

I turned around at the sound of my name and found Ms. Maki calmly walking towards me. She was wearing a long overcoat and had a scarf wrapped around her neck. Her belongings were in her hands and she looked ready to leave.

I waited for her to catch up and politely greeted her, "Hello, Ms. Maki. What can I do for you?" My thoughts immediately led me back to her class this morning, wondering if I had done something wrong.

"Mister Mutou, I'm sorry to bug you, especially since you're trying to get home. But, I never got to ask you during class." She said and together, we started to walk to the exit. Students streamed passed us, not giving us any thought. I glanced over to the teacher just as she said, "I just wanted to be a little nosy and ask where you were at last class. Did you get sick?"

I nodded my head and lied with ease, "Uh, yeah."

"What were you sick with?" She pressed on and glanced at me for maybe a second before adverting her gaze away.

I shrugged my shoulders and said whatever popped out of my mouth first, "I think it was just a small case of the flu. I know I was asleep for most of the time." I knew she was just being curious so I didn't mind telling her, even if it was a lie.

The teacher nodded her head, "I hope you are feeling better."

I nodded my thanks and noticed her looking at me again from the corner of my eye. Knowing that her eyes were lingering on me for more than a couple of seconds, I turned to face her and gave her a curious look. "Something I can help you with, Ms. Maki?" I asked.

She blinked and her eyes remained on my cheeks. "I'm sorry, but… I am really curious on what happened to your cheek." While we were walking, she reached out and was about to touch my cheek when she pulled back, noticing that this might seem a bit awkward.

When she pulled her hand away, I lifted my hand to my own cheek and lightly traced a few of the healing scabs. I looked away and said in a soft voice, "The other day, I was out buying a few groceries and on my way back home, I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking and accidently tripped. Having the luck that I do, I ended up colliding with a building and the brick scratched my face up." My hand dropped to my side and I looked back up, faking a smile. "It doesn't really hurt though. It's what I get for not paying attention."

Ms. Maki nodded her head, looking a bit satisfied by my answer. "Just make sure to rub some medicine on it so it doesn't get infected. After recovering from a case of the flu, you need to stay healthy and not give any openings for the virus to get inside you. Even if you only had a small case." She added. She looked away and something passed through her eyes. She bit her lip.

Watching her, I asked her if something was wrong. She looked a bit uneasy and remembering back just a minute or two ago, when I told her that I had the flu, I remembered her look. She looked rather troubled. Something was on her mind.

She looked at me with a sheepish look. "Am I really that easy to read?" She asked and I grinned at her. "Alright. It's just… I'm getting worried about you and Yami." She noticed my grin faltered and she quickly continued on before anything happened, "I know it's none of my business, I really do,, but I can't help but _be _concerned.

"I was talking with him earlier this morning, before school even started." She didn't notice my interested reaction as she faced forward and explained. "I asked him what the fight was about and what was so bad that he wouldn't even talk to you. I even asked him why you haven't been at school for the past two days. The weird thing was, he told me he didn't remember. It was like he didn't even know what we were talking about." She turned to face me just as we came to the doors.

We opened separate ones at the same time and walked out into the cold. I didn't look at her as I surveyed my surroundings and told her, "I appreciate your concern, Ms. Maki, but to be honest, I also don't understand why Yami won't talk to me. I've tried to talk to him and his friends, but they all ignore me. It's like I'm invisible to their eyes."

Ms. Maki bit her lip but before she could say anything, I beat her to it.

"I have to go now. Thanks for being concerned but with all due respect, would you mind staying out of this?" I spotted the bus several yards away, still waiting for people to board. If I hurried, I would be able to get a ride home and not have to walk… Trying not to feel guilty, I told her, "I feel like I did something wrong so it's up to me to fix it."

"And you have all winter break to fix things up." Ms. Maki added weakly, though she didn't sound offended by what I had just told her.

I nodded my head and did a small smile. "Yup. I have all break."

**XxxxX Until next time!**

**Ooh! A lot of y'all will like… no, love next chapter! **

**Lisa: It all heats up with Yugi confronting Yami about everything! So stay tune. **


	8. Chapter 8

**I found this quote on my brother's friend's Facebook page and thought it went PERFECT for this story. It's a little…. Tiny spoiler for what's soon to come, but don't worry, I'll be making sure a small twist is also in the story for that part. Here's the quote that goes so perfect with Yugi. **

'**Sometimes you forgive people simply because you still want them in your life.'**

**Disclaimer: I don't owe Yu-Gi-Oh! Nor any of its amazing characters. Just my own. Oh! And I kept forgetting to mention, I don't own Skype either. **

**Chapter Eight**

I never thought just trying to talk with someone would prove to be difficult! For the last couple of days, I tried to confront Yami about what was going on instead of waiting for him to come to me. I actually tried to take action, but every time I did, he would walk away from me. I would call out to him to stop, but he ignored me. No matter what I said or did, he would walk away.

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **I don't understand this! . [7:14pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Mayb you need 2 korner him & force him 2 talk 2 u [7:14pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **Right…. Like I can do that… -_-'' [7:15pm]

A week has already passed since school had ended and the break began. Instead of enjoying myself, I wasn't. I was more like moping around, trying to find things to keep me busy. I would open the shop, but I was so bored just sitting there waiting for customers, that sometimes I fell asleep. (thank Ra there was a bell above the door otherwise, people would have shoplifted without me even knowing!) Besides the shop, I've been talking to Dan on Skype almost every day and he kept me from dying of boredom.

Downstairs I could hear a lot of noise. It was laughter. Yami had invited _his _friends over for a movie night and basically everyone was here. This was their second movie, I would know because I could hear the stupid thing all the way up here in my room. I would ask them to turn it down, but just like before, they'd just ignore me.

I sighed and turned my attention away from my closed door back to my computer screen. My fingers drummed restlessly against my desk top as I waited for my only friend to reply. Deep down, I was wishing I was downstairs hanging out with them and for everything to return back to normal. But… I wasn't supposed to think like that anymore. I was supposed to forget about them and move forward with my life.

"Yeah right…" I mumbled and rubbed my eyes with my hands. "As much as I keep telling myself that, I'll always keep thinking about them. I may move forward, but I'll never forget. They're too much a part of my life to just let them go." Another sigh escaped through my lips as an aching sensation filled my chest. "Why am I always thinking about them? Why… why can't I just…" I didn't finish my sentence as I left it hanging in the air. Right at that moment, bringing me out of my confusion, Dan sent a message.

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **alrite, what they doin rite now? [7:17pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **Watching a movie… why? O.o [7:17pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Pull Yami aside and force him to talk 2 u. U have an audience and I'm sure they all will wonder what u want to tlk bout. [7:18pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **I don't know… . [7:18pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Never kno until u try. And mayb that will help u to stop thinkin bout them all time [7:18pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **Nothing will happen… [7:19pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **go & try! [7:19pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **but [7:19pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Game… don't make me come throw this computer & knock some sense into that head of urs. [7:20pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **=) [7:20pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **4get that…. Now go! [7:20pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **What will I get in return? –pouts- [7:20pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Uh.. idk? Wht u want [7:20pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **Idk, lol. ^.^ [7:21pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Hm… how bout a kiss if u do it? [7:21pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **:o Oh? But that's not possible. You live half way across the world. :'/ [7:21pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **;) [7:21pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Now go & tlk 2 him! [7:21pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **alright alright… but I'm telling you nothing will happen. [7:22pm]

**xXKing_Of_The_WafflesXx says: **Make him hear u game. And I'll be waiting. [1] [7:22pm]

**Puzzle Solver93 says: **k [7:22pm]

I lowered the top of my laptop so the screen wouldn't be visible to wondering eyes and stood up from my chair. I stretched my cramped arms and legs and popped my back. The feeling of nerves crept up into the pit of my stomach and I frowned. Why did the feeling have to enter me now?

"Nothing to be nervous about." I lied to myself and took a deep, calming breath. After I exhaled, I walked over to my door. My covered feet made no sound against the carpet and I made a mental note on why I was even wearing my shoes in the house. "I'm just going to talk to him to figure out what's going on. And this time, I'll make sure he listens." I walked out of my room and once I was out in the hallway, I took my time in walking downstairs. My nerves flared every few seconds so by the time I was off the steps and on the ground floor, I was shaking.

Before entering the living room where everyone was stationed, I paused and tried to even my breathing out. I heard soft talking in the other room and the TV volume being lowered so that people could hear each other. Joey's laughter could be heard above all the others who joined in with him. Hearing his voice, I took one more deep, deep breath and pushed myself into the room.

Everyone was here; Tea and all of the couples. Everyone was scattered around the room with their significant other, cuddling. I scanned the room, looking for the one who looked like me. At first, I didn't find him sitting anywhere. And then I found him walking out of the kitchen. He didn't pay me any consideration as he had his eyes fixed on the TV screen.

My heart squeezed at the sight of him, just like every time. For the moment, seeing him walking out of the kitchen, I was glued to the carpet. I couldn't move, even if I wanted to. I don't know if it was either my nerves or just seeing him that kept me from moving, but it was something strong.

"So, do you have anything to eat, Yams?" Joey asked and looked away from the TV to his friend. He had a look of hunger written all over his face like he always did and his eyes were on Yami's hands.

For some reason, hearing that voice seemed to break whatever spell I was under and allowed me to move. I took a step forward and reached out, taking Yami's wrist and tightening my grip around him so he wouldn't be able to easily twist away.

"Yami," I whispered, trying to keep my voice from cracking from my nerves. Immediately, I felt my mouth go dry like a sponge soaking up all of the moisture I had.

My darker half looked in my direction, but not exactly at me. It was like he was looking right through me. His eyes were set in a hard glare and his lips in a thin line.

I wet my lips and tried again, "Yami, we need to talk." My voice began to shake but there was nothing I could do. Why was it so hard to just talk with him? Since when have I become so scared to talk with him? Oh, that's right… ever since he stopped talking with me, ignored me, and let stuff happen to me. That's when.

"Go the hell away." Yami said and tried to twist his wrist out of my grip. Hearing those four words, I held on tighter and didn't show any movement that I was going to release him any time soon.

"N-no. We will talk whether you w-want to or not." I declared, hearing my voice start to rise from the soft whisper I used earlier.

Yami blinked and looked straight into my eyes, his anger started to rise too. He smirked but you could see his anger in his eyes as he let his cool drop. When he spoke, his words were like liquid acid that seemed to pierce through me. "Release me now or I'll make your life a living hell."

Someone must have muted the TV because I couldn't hear it in the background anymore. And from the corner of my eye, I saw everyone turn their heads in our direction, curious about what was going on.

By the tone of voice Yami used, I normally would have done as he said. But, memories of us being happy together and madly in love filled my brain. Despite his hurting words, I gathered courage I never even knew I had and gained enough confidence to defy him.

"No." I said. I ignored how fear crept into my voice and just focused on my courage. "No, I-I will not let you go; I will never let you go. I told you I loved you and I will always be here for you so don't you dare tell me to let you go. Because I won't do it." I felt like I was in some drama-filled movie where I was the center of attention.

I gazed deep into his narrowed crimson eyes and took a deep breath. I couldn't believe I was about to ask this, but, if my brain thought right, then this one question if it was answered, would allow me to move on. So, I licked my lips nervously once more and said, "The only way I will let you go, so you'll never have to see me again, is if you answer one question and one question only."

"And that would be?" He sneered and I felt his pulling reside some.

"Do you even love me anymore?" I whispered and felt tears fighting to become loose and roll down my cheeks. But, I held them back, knowing that if I started to ball like a baby in front of him, he probably wouldn't answer my question and just laugh at me instead. My fear seemed to disappear now that I asked him and had his attention.

He didn't say anything and his smirk transformed into a frown. Around the room, the only thing that could be heard was everyone's breathing.

I shifted my weight a little and continued on to another important question, "What did I ever do to make you ignore me? You're acting different and treating me worse than how you treated Bakura years back. Tell me what I did so I can fix it. Or do something that will help."

I waited for an answer, hoping that he would answer to give me something to go off of. But, once again, I never received one. I tried searching his eyes but I came up empty.

Feeling a little hurt that he wouldn't even defend himself, I asked, "Is it because you don't love me anymore? Is that why you treat me like a nobody? Was it something that I said? Something I did? Do you just want me out of your life so you think not ever saying anything will work? Because so far it is." My voice seemed to close up and my grip on him tightened.

I noticed his expression grow cloudy and his eyes became unreadable and became distant. His stance shifted to where he was slouching some and he still didn't respond to any of my questions.

Never in my whole life had I done it or even thought of doing to, but I raised my voice to where I was yelling, "TELL ME!" The tears that had been locked away finally escaped and flowed freely down my face. "Tell me why you won't even talk to me! You told me you loved me and you were scared to leave. Was that all a lie? One big fat lie so you could make me go soft and then turn around and use that against me to see just how much I would break? Was this your plan from the beginning? Do you like seeing me hurt?"

I paused, feeling my heart race in my chest and my breath coming out in rapid pants. My mind was hurting from the strain of yelling and from all of the emotions I was finally letting out after so many months of bottling it all in. My eyes continued to leak and I did nothing to stop them.

Even after my emotional one-sided argument, I still hadn't received an answer. He never even said one word.

Breaking my gaze with him, I turned my attention to the other people sitting as still as statues in the room. They had the same expression Yami had and their faces were unreadable. I returned my gaze back to my other half.

As much as I could, I calmed myself down. In a bitter-filled voice, I told him, "Fine, don't tell me; I can already see your answer anyways. I was dumb enough to think that if I waited for you, you would get over yourself or whatever shit you had going on. But, I see the truth," I released my tight grip on him and took a step back. The tears in my eyes slowed down but still came. "You don't want me here, I get it. I'm sorry it took me this long to figure it out. But you know what?" A bitter laugh that held no emotions escaped from my lips. "You don't have to worry about that anymore. I'll leave and never come back." Turning my attention to everyone else in the room who I used to call my best friends, I said to them, "I can see I'm not welcome. Even in my own house."

I turned on my heel and fled the living room, leaving a now stunned Yami in my tracks. Instead of going upstairs to lock myself in my room, I rushed out of the door into the game shop, not even bothering to grab my jacket or keys. I raced through the dark and empty shop to the door where I fumbled with trying to unlock the locks. My hands were shaking so badly that it took me longer than normal to finally unlock the locks and flung open the door.

Out of the house. Out of the game shop. Out of my life. That was how I wanted it now. I want to leave my old life behind and go start somewhere new.

As soon as I stepped out of the shop, my mind grew heavy and my vision became blurred from the tears that came like a left on faucet. I tried to wipe them away, but that only made them worse and make them come out faster.

The cold continued to nip at my wet cheeks as I paused right outside the closed door. I sniffled and looked around. Where was I going? Shouldn't I have gone up to my room to pack some belongings and grab my money and whatnot? Wasn't I going to leave and never come back? But… where could I go?

Looking to my right, I knew the town laid that way, along with school, the park and the bus station. Turning my head to my left, I saw the steep hill a half mile or so away. There was a small park that way too, along with picnic tables and the ocean. That would be a good place to go and…..

I took a step in that direction, my mind starting to become fixed. But then a dog parked and I jumped, startled. Realizing which direction I was about to go in, I squeezed my eyes shut and took the step back. Without giving much thought on it, I turned to my right and began running. Where? Wherever my feet took me. That's where.

I ran as hard as I could. The cold winter air stung my slick cheeks and my eyes would have watered if it weren't for my crying already. My lungs began to burn from the lack of oxygen as I panted, but that didn't stop me from running. Without stopping, I ran around people who crowded the sidewalks and never wasted any breath trying to use my manners. Right now, manners could wait. But I did try not to bump or run in to anyone, so they should be thankful for that.

When my legs felt like they were about to fall off, I kept going. My mind was set on autopilot and wouldn't stop until I reached my goal, where ever that may be.

I ran like my life depended on it.

I ran to leave my home behind.

I ran so I wouldn't have to be a burden to anyone anymore.

I ran so I wouldn't see Yami's glaring eyes on mine.

I ran … I ran until… I couldn't anymore. I was breaking down like an old rusted car. A car that had seen better days. I was breaking down like that car even as I moved.

My feet ended up carrying me to the park of all places. I never slowed down from my fast pace until I made it to some place where I could sit down and rest and cry out my eyes until they were no longer there. And that place happened to be the swings.

"No," I cried, bowing my head and grabbing the sides of it. "No, no, no! Why? Why didn't he say anything?" My eyes were squeezed shut and all I thought about was Yami staying quiet as I screamed at him. "He should have said something!" Even if it were to sneer at me, I would have been okay with it. At least I knew he was understanding what it was I was saying. But now, he remained silent.

The wind blew all around me but I couldn't feel it. I was in so much emotional pain that my senses were numb.

Being oblivious to the world, the park started to empty out even though the sun wouldn't sink out of sight for another hour or so. People that were leaving casted my shaking form looks of pity but no one even tried to come up to the traumatized boy to comfort him or offer him some kind words. The park was almost empty but I still didn't look up or around. Soon, there was silence and I knew I was alone.

Or so I thought.

Someone was walking over to me and their feet crunched the dead leaves that littered the ground. Their footsteps were soft but the leaves made them seem loud. And the sound kept coming closer. When the sound got close enough and stopped, the person who made all of the crunching noise spoke, and I knew one hundred percent that he was talking to me.

"I knew I'd find you here, Game."

**XxxxX Until next time! **

**Lisa: Dun dun duuuuuuun!**

**That's one big cliffy. Though I think a lot of you already know who it is… .'' Anyways, tell me your thoughts and what you liked and disliked! **

**1] That's actually a song me and my choir sung. **_**Make them hear you**_**. I just thought it was funny and a coincidence…. And Now I'm singing the song in my head. Lol **


	9. Chapter 9

**Lisa: Wow… you made everyone really hate Yami…**

**I know. It had to be that way. **

**Lisa: Uh huh… Well, the climax is starting to rise! **

**Or something like that. Please enjoy the chapter! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**Chapter Nine**

**Yami's POV:**

He blinked once and felt like he came out of a trance. His head was pounding for some reason and his ears were ringing. His vision was a little blurred but was slowly coming into focus. When his eyes were finally adjusted, he found himself starring at the front door which was wide open, like someone had just walked out without closing the door. Why was the door opened? Did he forget to close it?

A soft noise brought his confused attention over to his right. Sitting all around his living room were his friends. Tea was sitting on the couch, curled into a ball as she was angled towards him. Tristan and Duke took up the other part of the couch; they were curled up against one another with their feet resting on the coffee table in front of them and their legs intertwined. Kaiba was sitting on the only recliner with Joey perched on his lap, cuddling. But right now, Joey was sitting right up, watching Yami. Sitting in a corner in the room was Marik with his love and lighter half, Malik curled up against him. And laying on the floor in front of the TV, was Bakura and Ryou. Their bodies were touching as they were as close as could be. With a start, he realized everyone was looking at him with all the same expression and their expression was how he was feeling. All of their eyes were dark and clouded but it looked as though they were coming out of it as their eyes did seem to clear up a bit.

Bakura was the first to break the silence, "What the hell is going on?" He was rubbing his head as he tried to nurse his head-ache.

"Whatever it was," Malik said as he rubbed his own head and leaned into his dark for comfort, "my head hurts like it's been hit with a sledge hammer." He winced from the pain.

Kaiba looked over to the tanned Egyptian as he rolled his eyes, "And how would you even know what that feels like?" He asked. He too, was rubbing his head at the same time as rubbing Joey's back in small circular motions.

"It's Marik he's dating." Tristan said to join in. "You never know what happens between them two." His lover nodded his head in agreement and wished he didn't. He laid his head on Tristan's shoulder and closed his eyes.

Ryou sat up from laying on his stomach, his hand on his head, making it look like he was trying to make sure his head wouldn't somehow come off. Behind him, Bakura also sat up and pulled his light into a hug as he wrapped his arms against his lovers waist. "Whatever it was," Ryou said in a soft voice but loud enough for everyone to hear him, "It looks like it affected us all. We all have head-aches and I'm sure you all are feeling the same way as I do."

"Like crap?" Joey asked his voice a little gruffly. There was a union of agreements.

Yami glanced around as everyone talked. He was looking for a certain person who he couldn't find. And for some reason, his chest was hurting. He was going to ask if anyone else's chest hurt since everyone's head seemed to hurt as well, but something told him no else was hurting. His chest only hurt like this one other time, and that was when he had done something horribly bad to someone a year or two ago. He had lost that person's soul. Did he do that again? Was that why he was hurting as bad as he was? No… that couldn't be it. Something inside of him told him it was something bigger. But, what could be bigger than losing someone's soul? And who was that person… who had lost their soul ages ago that made him feel like this?

Yami kept looking around, a frown appearing on his confused face. Why didn't he know the name of that person, especially if he had once upon a time lost that person's soul? Was that person that important? All thoughts lead to one word, and that word was yes. But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't figure out who the name of that person was. He was thinking about it so hard that another head-ache seemed to form.

Something told him that the person who had lost their soul was the same person who was making his chest hurt the way it was. Did that person hit him? No… it didn't physically hurt. It was more emotional. But, if it was emotional hurting, than it couldn't be his chest hurting. It had to be something more. His heart? Does make more sense when you put everything together. Or well, kind of.

This person had to be important. But if he was, why couldn't he think of the person's name? Yami knew for sure that this person was the cause of his emotional pain. He didn't know how he came to conclude that, but he just did. If he could just remember that name, maybe he could find some answers for the reason all of this pain.

Before he knew it, the pain started to turn into guilt. He didn't know why, but it just did so. His stomach seemed to turn and the feeling started to increase. Why was he feeling like this?

Without even realizing it, Yami's eyes returned to the opened door. For some reason, he felt as though his answers lie with why the door was opened. Only if he could remember…

"Yami?" Joey suddenly said as silence settled among the friends in the room. But, Yami wasn't paying attention. All of his attention was on the door. One by one, images of a boy who looked just like him but was crying with betrayal written all over his face, came into his head. The boy was yelling at him while crying. And then… he runs out of the door.

Realization dawned on Yami as he whipped his eyes away from the door and looked around the room once more. He glanced at everyone and did a double glance. His eyes widened as he realized someone was missing. And that someone was…

"Not everyone is here…" Yami said, referring to what Ryou had said only moments ago. His gaze returned to the opened door.

Everyone glanced at each other, wondering what he meant. They all looked around the room, trying to figure out who was missing. It was Joey who questioned the ancient pharaoh, "What do you mean? Everyone _is _here." He said. He looked around again, just to make sure when he paused. That's when it hit him just who was missing and who Yami was talking about.

"Yugi." Yami whispered in a hushed voiced. His eyes grew teary. Without uttering a single word to his friends, he ran towards the door. Yells of surprise could be heard but he ignored them and continued to run. Something told him that that image of Yugi he just had, the one where he was crying, told him that he, Yami, was the one to blame for that. The guilt inside of him increased just a tad more. So it was him that made Yugi cry, that's why he was feeling guilty. But, _why_?

The pharaoh from long ago raced out of the living room and grabbed his jacket on the way out. He pulled it on as he passed through the shop and out the door. Once outside, he paused. He could feel the cold blowing on him but thanks to his black leather jacket, he was warm. But, that wasn't what was on his mind right now. He needed to find his Light. Immediately.

"How do I even…" He mumbled to himself as he looked left and right, stuck on which way to go. Yugi could have gone anywhere and if he, Yami, choose the wrong direction, then something could happen and it might not be good.

Feeling panic well up inside him, Yami squeezed his eyes shut. He wished he still had his connection with Yugi. But, after the Ceremonial Battle, their connection (along with the other lights and darks) seemed to be served. Ishizu said that it may be because they were all on Earth and officially had their own bodies so the connection went away.

He squeezed his eyes tighter and thought about his aibou and wanting to find him. It wouldn't hurt to try to see if the connection still worked. He couldn't remember even trying after that battle to see if it was still there. But now he was, months later. His concentration was focused and he barely breathed. He thought about Yugi and Yugi only.

Given a couple of seconds, Yami started to get a picture in his mind. There was green everywhere. Trees, bushes, grass. A squirrel was running across the grass to go to its tree. There were even some picnic tables.

His eyes flashed opened as he realized just where his light was. Without giving it a second chance, Yami took off to his right, going straight to the park. So it seemed that their connection wasn't completely lost. It wasn't working the same way, to where he could hear and speak with Yugi, but he could 'see' what Yugi was seeing. Well, almost.

Yami ran as hard as he could. '_What has happened?' _He thought. '_Why is Yugi at the park? And more importantly, why is he crying?' _He didn't even slow down when people got in his way. He just ran around them or tried to dodge.

"_I'll leave. I'll leave and never come back. I can see I'm not welcome. Even in my own house."_

These words filled Yami's mind to where he almost tripped over his own feet. He caught himself and felt his throat close up on him, realizing these words belonged to the one he was looking for. But, he couldn't remember having any conversations with Yugi where he said this. Why were these words in his mind for?

"Yugi…" He whispered and continued running. "What… what has happened?" He tried to think back to the last conversation he had with his light, but he came up empty handed. The words in his mind seemed fresh, like they just happened today. So he tried to think about what he did. He was having a movie night with all of his friends at his house. He tried to think if Yugi was there, but… he couldn't. Not as in he couldn't picture the boy, but more as he tried to think about the boy and what had happened today, did he come up empty.

"Why can't I think of anything?" He growled to himself. "Especially when Yugi is involved." He tried to think of _any _day where he and Yugi were together. Any memory or conversation or anything! All he came up with was the last time he remembered being with his love. And that was when they were both in Egypt cuddling under the night sky, starring up at the stars. But… that was _months _ago. Wasn't there anything more recent?

Yami's face became numb as the cold wind hit him. But he kept going. He needed to get to the park. He needed to talk to Yugi. He was the only one who knew what was going on.

A minute or two later from running, he finally arrived at the park. He slowed down as he began to scan the area for a certain boy. His breathing was coming out in rapid pants from his pants, but he ignored it. Soon, his searching came to a step as he located his other half sitting alone on a swing. His head was down and even from standing so far away, Yami could tell Yugi's frame was shaking.

'_He's crying,'_ he thought.

Movement from his right made Yami advert his gaze from his lover to a man walking directly towards his lover. The man was familiar, too familiar. Yami has seen him at school many, many times.

His eyes narrowed. With the man walking towards Yugi, he could already sense something bad about to happen. Especially with Yugi being in a fragile state. Yami started his descend down the hill he was on to the swings.

**Yugi's POV**

My eyes widened as I stared at the ground and my body stiffened. Only one person called me by that nickname and that person lived in a whole different country! But how… I slowly lifted my head up with my eyes going over towards the newcomer. Standing a couple of feet away from where I was sitting was the last person I thought would see here.

In a clumsy manner, I struggled to my feet and angled my body away from him. My body tensed as if expecting to be beaten up on the spot. Tears slowed down once again but they didn't stop. Despite the blurriness, I glared at the man in front of me.

"What're you doing here?" I tried to sound intimidating or at least try not to sound scared, but my voice crack and it sounded broken, even to my own ears. It was hoarse from all of the crying and it sounded weak. Despite my voice not sounding the way I wanted it too, I made sure my face showed that he wasn't welcomed.

"I wanted to make sure you were alright, Game." Danny said, his voice showing concern for me. His stormy gray eyes looked deep into my amethyst colored ones. They looked warm and sincere and in no way were they expressing anything bad. I couldn't help but have my glare falter some.

I took a step backwards, "H-how do you even know that name?" I demanded.

Danny took a step towards me and said in a soft voice, "I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Game. I was going to tell you sooner, but I didn't want you to think of me any different than how you see me online." His expression looked a little guilty with the news.

I took another step back. "You're lying." I choked on the words because I knew he wasn't. Somehow, I knew he was telling the truth, but I didn't want to believe it.

His expression changed once again and he gently smiled, "I wish I was, Game." He took another step forward. "Look Game, I just wanted -,"

"Stop." I said and closed my eyes. I squeezed them shut.

"Game…?" He frowned but once again, I cut him off from saying anything else.

"Stop calling me that!" I yelled and my eyes flashed opened. I did an intake of breath as I realize that his chest was barely two inches from my face. He had closed the space between us without me even realizing it! Before I had time to step back, his hand cupped my cheek and he lifted my face upwards.

Brushing a few of my tears that still littered my face away with his thumb, he gently told me, "Then what do you want me to call you?" His voice was calm and soothing. His grip on my face relaxed and was soft to the touch. A touch that I had been craving for so long. I leaned into him for a minute, feeling lost for the moment. I forgot where we were and what was going on. I forgot about trying to figure out what I was going to do and just relaxed into him.

But then the world came crashing down on my shoulders and memories of him being apart of Ushio's gang surfaced. I jerked out of his grip and took a couple of steps back. My unwavering eyes stuck to him like Elmer's glue.

"My name is Yugi." I said in a firm voice. "That is what you call me." Thankfully, my voice wasn't wavering or breaking. I even had a little command to it. If the situation was different, I would have smiled.

"Alright, Yugi." He said. He took another step towards me, "look, I was wondering -,"

"Here you are," a deep, baritone voice cut him off from completing his sentence.

I stiffened from the familiar voice but before I could move a single muscle, let alone blink, two strong arms wrapped around my waist from behind and pulled me close to his body. My head was resting against his chest and I could feel his heart pounding in his chest, sounding like he had been running. And to confirm my guess, I could hear a small pant.

I didn't response nor did I try to get out of the embrace. My mind must be playing tricks on me; why else would Yami be here? But when I caught a glimpse of Danny, I knew it wasn't my mind but the real thing.

Danny's posture went rigid and he recoiled away from me like a snake would from being poked by sticks. His voice became husky and had a bit of anger hinted when he spoke, "What're you doing here? Don't you have friends to tend too?"

Like always, Yami spoke in a calm voice and his grip on me tightened just a little, "That is of none of your concern." He easily masked the panting that I could hear when he spoke. "I'm just here for Yugi." I didn't see my darker half give Danny a dirty look.

"Maybe he doesn't want you here," Danny shot back. He crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow, challenging the new comer.

But Yami just smirked. "From the conversation that occurred a minute or two before, it seems like he doesn't want you here either."

"Maybe _he_ should decide that for himself." Danny growled, suddenly aggravated by the way things were turning. Before he could control himself, his anger got to him and he yelled, "Wasn't it you that ignored him and treated him like trash? Weren't you the one who yelled at him and didn't listen to him when he had a problem?" I flinched every time Danny yelled a new, yet true statement but stayed quiet and let him continue. "Who was the one who was there for him, that gave him a shoulder to lean on when things got tough and no one else would listen? Who gave him advice when he needed it most? Huh?" His eyes narrowed dangerously and he added, "Do you want me to continue or are you good?"

Suddenly, I had had enough.

"Will you two just stop?" I yelled. I wiggled out of Yami's grasp and turned to face them both. My eyes were blazing with confusion and hurt and anger and I had no control of any of it. My hands were at my sides, curled into fists. "Just go away, both of you! I don't want to look at either of you because you both are wrong!" I turned around once again and fled the scene, running anywhere that wasn't there.

**Yami's mini POV**

Yami watched his lighter half run with hurt eyes. What was he supposed to do, go after him or grant his wish and leave him alone? He was torn between those two choices and his head pounded as he thought everything through.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Danny take a step after Yugi and that was when he made up his mind. Before Danny could take another step, Yami stuck out his hand and grabbed his shoulder, turning the man so that they were eye to eye.

"Stay away from him," Yami said in a cold tone that he made it seem like they were in the Artic. He didn't give the other a chance to speak as he ran after his light.

"What is going on?" The ancient pharaoh whispered to himself.

**XxxxX**

**Until next time! :D Soooo? What'da think? Confused? I would be surprised if you weren't. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone, I just wanted to say sorry for the odd updates. I've been busy this summer with work and volunteering and trying ever so much to hang out with friends, I've been finding it difficult to write to not only this story, but another one as well. Every time I do want to write though, someone else is on the computer so I'm SOL. (Feels weird saying that and not spelling it all out… o.o'') But, hopefully that'll change in the near future. Most likely, I'll be buying a computer from a friend and it'll be mine! I'm excited. :3 But this won't happen for another like…. Three weeks? I have to get the money first.. . **

**Lisa: Stop blabbering and get on with the story already!**

**Alright already, sheesh. . The POV's should go back to just Yugi now if anyone cares. And without further ado, on with the story!**

**Lisa: 'Bout time! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**Chapter Ten**

Running around a bench, I realized I didn't even know where I was going. I was just running with no destination. But, I knew one thing; anywhere was better than staying at the park. Two unexpected things happened, things I weren't prepared for. Two things that left me more confused than ever before. First off, Yami, my darker half and the person who was supposed to be ignoring me for some odd reason, came to me and _hugged _me and defended me against Danny just like old times. Why did he do that for? And then there's Danny, the guy who tormented me and has bullied me for as long as I could remember, was in fact my online friend who I told everything to, who I spilled all of my emotions out to, who was someone I thought I could trust. What was the world coming too?

I was so deep in thought, trying to sort everything out with no luck that I wasn't watching where I was going. At that moment, a tree root decided to be bad and sprang into action to trip me. And it won. I feel to the ground hard, only managing to catch myself on my hands and knees. I felt the skin on my hands being scrapped off from the rocky ground that I decided to fall on. But instead of getting up to continue running, I remained there. Tears poured from my face and dripped to the ground. In the back of my mind, I was trying to figure out how I still had tears left in me. Haven't I used them all up today?

Switching from my hands and knees, I sat on my butt and pulled my legs to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. I buried my face in my knees and started to shake.

"I don't understand anything anymore…" I cried to my legs. My hands were throbbing from the pain and my head felt like lead due to all of the emotions I was feeling, but I ignored it all. I blocked it all out like I always had.

"Yugi." A voice whispered not two minutes later and soon I felt somebody's presence right next to me. I glanced up and through my blurry vision, I found a pair of concerned crimson eyes staring into my own not a foot away. Yami was kneeling down in front of me and he was once again panting.

I stared at him for maybe a second, or was it a minutes, before I realized how close he was. Panic swelled inside of me for reasons I wouldn't be able to explain and I scooted away from him at a fast and clumsy pace.

"G-go away!" I yelped. I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head. After a couple of seconds, I knew he didn't move, he was still in the same spot."F-fine! I'll leave!" Still being as clumsy as ever, I opened my eyes and struggled to my feet once more. I turned my back on him and started to walk away. I needed to get away from him. That was what everything came down to at home. He wanted me gone, so that was what I was trying to do.

"Yugi, wait."

Before I could get any further, I felt him grab my wrist. I tugged at him lightly, seeing if he would notice that I didn't want him touching me. But, it didn't because he tightened his grip a little more.

"Let me go." I said and pulled harder. I needed to stay strong and give him the cold shoulder, despite the fact that my voice cracked a little. Wasn't it him who tried to get away from me? Geez, everything was getting confusing.

Still, Yami didn't release me. Instead, he pulled me a little towards him and asked in a soft but stern voice, "Yugi, what is going on?" He asked. I could hear the concern in his voice and if I were to look at him, it'd probably be in his eyes too.

On the inside, I felt my stomach clench tightly at the sound of him using my name. When was the last time he said that? Mentally, I shook my head. I need to stay focus and get out of this situation. The longer I stayed here with him, the more I'd probably break down. So I ignored him and tried hopelessly to get out of his grip. I forced myself to calm down a little to relax because then he would slacken his grip some. Then I could easily escape.

Apparently Yami understood what I was trying to do but he didn't let on that he knew. His grip on me loosened just a tad and I fell for it. Immediately, I tried to snatch my wrist back but that little action had caused Yami to tighten his hold once again and he managed to use a little force to pull me to him. I squeaked in alarm and my legs got tangled with one another and I would have fallen if Yami didn't already have a hold of me. He easily straightened me back up and released my wrist only to grab me by both of the shoulders. He kept me steady and stared straight at me.

"What is going on, Yugi? Why are you trying to leave?" He repeated his question once more.

I had no choice but to look into his eyes. I felt a little fear spark up in me from the hold but I tried to mask it with a cold look that ultimately failed. My look of fear was what I was expressing and I could see the look of pain in Yami's eyes to know that he was causing it. He released me and I stumbled back a couple of feet. Already, the fear started to be no more and I was able to lightly glare at him.

Finding my voice, I managed to respond to his questions with "Why do you care?" I hugged myself, not from the cold, but as a way to comfort myself and to help ease the pain that started to come back.

Yami frowned and he stared at me for the longest time. "Why wouldn't I care?" He demanded. He took a step towards me without thinking, trying to understand what I was talking back. But, with his movement, I instantly stepped back. My eyes widened again and there was nothing I could do to get them to stop.

He noticed and took the step back, all the while wondering what was going on. He kept his question to himself and instead asked, "Yugi please, tell me what is going on." There was a hint of helplessness in his voice that didn't suit him at all. "Why are you crying? What was with Danny back there?" He pointed his finger behind him to indicate what went down by the swings. "And more importantly, what did he mean when he said I ignored you and mistreated you?"

"As if you don't know." My bitter-filled voice answered him.

"I don't!" He suddenly yelled, throwing his arms up in the air out of frustration and confusion. A crease formed on his forehead from frowning and his crimson colored eyes were slightly narrowed as they were trained on me. He barely moved his eyes, let alone blinked.

I returned the frown but had a bit of confusion mixed in with it. What was he talking about? Of course he knew what was going on; he was the cause of all of this drama. Maybe he was trying to trick me so he could laugh at me more. But, Yami was never like that before. People do change though. I knew Yami surely did. But his face… his expression, he really did look confused. He looked like he wanted to understand what was going on and to help. I knew that face.

Noting my silence, Yami continued, "Yugi, I swear on my life that I do not know what's going on." At his sides, his hands curled into fists. "All I see is when I look at you is your crying face and the look of pain and hurt in your eyes. And for some reason, I have this feeling of guilt in my stomach but I do not know why. I am lost about everything. And you seem to know what is going on. Please, tell me what is going on."

I continued to watch him. He reminded me of a helpless puppy left in the rain on a cold and windy day. He looked so lost and confused and desperate. Maybe that was why I started to give in. Yami never acted like this so seeing him now, how he is, had barriers come down as my naive self gave in.

I swallowed and whispered to him, "You really… don't know, do you?"

He blinked and nodded his head. "I swear that I don't. I have all of these questions but no answers."

Without realizing it, I began walking backwards. Yami held out a hand as if to stop me, but I bumped into a tree and slide down it. He frowned but took a couple of hesitating steps towards me before he sat down a foot or two in front of me. I brought my legs back up to my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs for comfort. I rested my chin on my knees and looked down at the grass. Yami waited for me to say something but I was lost and trying to sort everything out in my head.

I didn't know what was going on, but, for some reason, I believed him. I actually believed that he didn't know what was going on. Call me naive, but this was a gut feeling and your gut usually told you right. I knew he was waiting for me to say something, but I didn't know what to say. What do I even explain to him? He said he didn't know what was going on, but… _what _didn't he know what was going on? What did he know? How much was I going to have to say? Where do I even begin?

One thing that did pop into my head explained a lot. It was only three words, but they were strong words. In the softest voice I could managed, I whispered, "You hurt me…"

My eyes were fixed on him, waiting for his reaction. At first, he just stared at me with a blank look. Then, what I had said started to sink in. His look turned to confusion like he was wondering what I was talking about. And then it turned to sadness upon seeing the truth. Just one look at me and he knew I wasn't lying. And then his expression went to anger. I couldn't tell if it was directed at me or himself, but he didn't say anything on that topic.

"W-what… how?" He finally managed to get out after a minute or two of silence. The anger representing his emotions disappeared and the confusion came back.

I swallowed nervously. How was I going to tell him that he ignored me and talked rudely? I can't just bluntly say it because that would seem weird. But I had to tell him something, didn't I? Why couldn't he just remember everything, it would be so much easier.

Upon my silence, Yami scooted a little closer to me and asked, "What have I done?" His question could have gone in two different directions like what did he do because he didn't know or what he did because he understood something bad had happened.

I sort of tilted my head at him in confusion because I didn't know which one he meant. I didn't get to say anything because Yami continued on.

"Y-you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Just witnessing your silence, it must have been bad." He looked away with a look of hurt and he took a shaky breath. The wind blew around us, blowing our bangs around wildly like they had a mind of their own. But we heeded them no attention. I stared at Yami as he had his eyes casted in a different direction. He had on the look that he was in deep thought. We said nothing.

A couple of minutes passed and there was still silence. It was slow going, but for the first time, I started to feel the cold. My body was finally resting and I wasn't generating any heat since I wasn't running anymore. Goose bumps formed on my arms but I did nothing to my arms to warm them as I remained unmoving.

Finally, it was Yami to break the silence. Without looking at me, he said, "I don't know what I did, but I'm sorry, Yugi." I blinked and remained quiet. I stared at the grass in front of me and waited for more. "There isn't much of our connection left, but from the bits and pieces that I find, I can tell that whatever it was I did was bad. No… bad doesn't cover what has happened. Whatever happened, it was horrible. And I sense that it was I who was the one who caused most of this.

"The little bits from our connection, I sense your pain and fear and sadness. I truly do not know what has been going on, but Yugi," He finally looked at me but I kept my eyes glued to the ground. "You have to know, whatever has happened, you know that I would never hurt you."

"But you did." I whispered. My eyes tried to produce more tears but finally, they couldn't. I was all dried up. I looked up and stared into his eyes, not trying to hide my emotions from him.

Yami shook his head and told me, "And I do not know why I did so. Listen Yugi, everything that has happened, I have no memory of it. It's like someone erased my memory of everything. I don't remember ever hurting you or making you cry." He scooted closer again to where we were mere inches away from each other. I felt my heart race a little at the close contact and then really felt it race when he suddenly grabbed ahold of both of my hands. He held them tight in his own and I stared at our connected hands, doing nothing to try and escape.

"I told you when we first met that I would protect you. Later on, I told you I love you." His hands squeezed mine and I squeezed my eyes shut, remembering all of the times he told me he loved me. There was never a day he didn't tell me he loved me. He always made sure I knew. "Right now, I still mean both of those. I would die if it meant for your safety."

My breath began to come in pants and when I opened my eyes again, I stared up into his eyes. I softly gasped. The love was evident in his crimson colored eyes. It was there, just like it always used to be. He continued, "Whatever happened, I swear that it wasn't me. I can't hurt somebody I love, somebody who is my whole world." He squeezed my hands again. "But, regardless of what has happened, I swear to you, I will fix this. I will find a way to find out who is responsible and make sure they pay. Everything will go back to normal and we'll put this behind us."

A tear fell from my eyes and a lump formed in my throat. So I guess my tears were back and not all dried away. My head started to pound as the emotions swelled in my chest, making it hard to breath.

Still being silent, Yami took that as a bad note. He frowned and his eyes drooped a bit. His grip on me slackened a little and he said in a soft, defeated voice, "Unless… unless you don't want that."

Realizing what he had just said, I turned our hands so I was now holding them and I squeezed them with all of my might. I swallowed the lump and managed to say, "N-no. I-I do." More tears followed after the first and I continued on with a much softer tone, "but, how is this going to work?"

Suddenly, without giving me any warning, Yami pulled on my hands and I found myself in a hug. He hugged me tightly and I couldn't do anything except let him hug me. I was a little stiff and unable to relax, but I let him. I was unable to hug him back because my hands were squished between our chests, but he didn't seem to notice.

Whispering in my ear, Yami gently told me with a firmness in his voice, "We will find a way. We always do."

**XxxxX**

**And that's it for this chapter! Sorry it's so short, but I really liked the ending so….. yeah. I hope you liked it and if there is any confusion, please, PLEASE don't hesitate to mention it. **

**And I know DarkHearts message has been floating around, but here's mine also if you haven't received the message yet! **

**IMPORTANT: I'm pretty sure every or most of you heard about how FanFiction is going to get rid of a lot of stories that involved yoai, yuri, sex, rape, violence, song-fics, lemon and many, many more without even giving us any warning. There's a petition to stop this madness and I know a lot of people have signed it (I included). I don't want mine nor anyone's stories being taken down and forever lost. People have spent way to much time and effort for this to happen.**

**That's why a few of great authors and myself have decided to help take action to show that we're not going to accept to tear down our stories. We're going to do something about it instead of just sit on the sidelines and let this happen. So, we decided to have a BlackOut. On June 23rd, we decided to not get on FanFiction at all. No updating stories, no reading them, no betaing them, no nothing. On that day, we stay away from this site. **

**Why we decided to have a BlackOut is because if we can get enough people involved, then FF,net will notice and they'll lose money because of it. ((Personally, I didn't know they got money for people coming to this site... o.o'')) This will show them that we're not playing and we mean business. We'll protect our stories whatever means necessary. Why should we be punished because of a few kids reading p0rn here? **

**So how bout it? A whole BlackOut day where you just stay away from this site. I know most of you will think this is dumb, but I'm not going to tolerate having mine or anyone else story be taken down. I really don't want that to happen and I'm pretty sure you don't either. Please consider this. It's only for one day, so what's it gonna hurt for you to not read or write? **

**Spread this around that on June 23rd, we're having a BlackOut day. Just remember not to come on to this site if you're serious and do not want your story or anyone else be taken down. Let's make a change and show we won't stand for this!**

**Yours Truly, **

**Kairi**


	11. Chapter 11

**You probably wouldn't believe it, but this story got nominated for the Best Puzzleshipping Story this month. I didn't even know they did something like that! :O But, any who, thanks y'all! Y'all are the best readers an author could ever have! And now on with the story I know y'all have ever so patiently been waiting for! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! **

**Chapter Eleven**

We were maybe in the hug for a couple of seconds longer when Yami finally pulled back. He pushed my bangs away from my eyes and tucked them behind my ear as he whispered, "I am so sorry, aibou. I wish this never happened." His hand went to cup my cheek but I turned my head a little and his hand fell away. I ignored the hurt look that passed through his eyes at the same time he noticed the discomfort in mine.

I let his words sink in at the same time as the cold started to seep in. I could only nod my head to show that I accepted his apology. Trying not to make it noticeable, I crossed my arms across my chest to keep myself warm. Goose bumps formed on my bare arms as the cold blew around. After being in that hug with my arms squished between us and warm arms around me, I took the full blow of the chill. Being in that hug reminded my body that I wasn't protected from the winter air.

Against my will, a shiver went down my spine. I tightened my arm closer around me.

Noticing the movement, Yami's face changed to concern and he asked, "What's wrong?" The affection in his voice reminded me of our time together months ago before all of this... happened.

I shook my head, not wanting to worry him. "I-t's nothing." My teeth began to chatter in my mouth and there was nothing I could do to get them to stop. I looked away from the man in front of me to the scenery around us. Besides the grass being dead, it looked a little damp out. That was weird, it hadn't rained yet. Why did it look like that for?

"Yugi..." Yami quietly sighed my name. He knew me too well to know it was nothing. "Please tell me what is wrong."

I kept my eyes away. The park was empty of people except for us. There weren't any animals like squirrels or birds around to watch, they were all probably in their warm nests sound asleep. Having that thought in mind, I shivered but tried to tame it so it wouldn't be noticeable. I wish I was home, surrounded by warm blankets and snug in my bed.

"S-seriously, i-it's nothing." But I was betrayed. The chattering escaped and mixed in with my words when I spoke. I silently cursed myself.

Yami rolled his eyes as he understood what was going on. He shook his head with a smile on his face and shrugged his leather jacket off of him. Without thinking twice, he handed it to me, causing me to look back over and stare at the jacket in front of me. I shook my head and didn't take it. Just because I was cold didn't mean he'd have to give me his jacket.

"Please take the jacket," he said and moved it closer to me.

Once again, I didn't move no matter how much I was aching for the warmth the jacket would provide. "Y-you ne-need it m-more." The chattering started to get worse as more cold started to seep in.

"Is that so?" Yami replied rhetorically. Despite my answer, he scooted closed and swung his jacket around my shoulders. I flinched from the movement but otherwise stayed still. "No, you need it more. Besides, I'm wearing a long sleeve shirt while you are not. Just take the jacket, Yugi." He softly added when he saw that I was not accepting it.

After a second of hesitation, I gave in and loosened my arms to push them through the sleeves. Immediately I felt the warmth the cloth gave off and buried deep into the jacket without even noticing. The jacket wasn't exactly big on me, it was almost a perfect size. Yami and I weren't far off in sizes, maybe one or two size difference. As I settled into his jacket, the scent of his cologne filtered through my nostrils. Old Spice. I smiled a little at the familiarity of it.

A second or two later, Yami cleared his throat and asked, "So... what would you like to do now?"

I gave him a confused expression and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Did you want to stay out here or would you like to go home?"

I froze up a little. Home. I told myself I wasn't going back. But, that was before Yami... changed. I was never going to go back because I wasn't welcome there anymore. But now, now that Yami recalled he didn't remember anything that happened, did that still count? Was I going to be welcomed there, to my own house? All of his friends were there, or well, they could still be there. If I went back to the house and they were there, would they act the same and still ignore me or will they not remember anything like Yami? I bit my lip, wondering if I wanted to go back home.

All the while, Yami watched my reaction. He saw the confusion and deep thinking represented on my face and understood what I was thinking about. He didn't say anything. All he did was stand up and held out both hands to me.

Glancing up, I eyed his hands, wondering if they were safe.

"Let's go home and get out of the cold." Yami suggested when he realized I wasn't going to respond. "I promise I won't do anything," He added softly as he kept his hands out. I took my eyes off of his hands and looked into his eyes. After a minute, I nodded and took his hands, allowing him to hoist me up.

Once on my feet, I was making the move to take my hands back when Yami had sense the discomfort and already dropped them. He smiled warmly at me and gestured with his head so we could start our expedition home. He turned his head and began to walk.

I stayed where I was and stared at my hands that I brought out and held out in front of me. I could still recall the warmth on them left from Yami's own hands. It was nice. Finding my voice, I softly asked to where my other half could hear me, "How do I know this isn't a dream?"

Yami stopped and turned around, facing me. He watched me and didn't say anything as I continued.

"How do I know that when I wake up, this is all real?" I tore my gaze away from my hands to Yami's crimson colored eyes. "How do I know?" My throat closed up a little and a lump formed in my throat. I sounded broken, even to my own ears. How do I know that all of this is even real and not some sick dream to make me break even further? I needed to know. I was already the broken toy in the game shop, afraid to have some false hope of ever getting repaired again. When you get fixed, there's always a chance to become broken again. I didn't want that to happen to me. I took a step back and whispered, "How do I know?"

My Darker half took a step towards me and stopped when I took one back. He stayed where he was and tried to look strong and not hurt when he told me, "I can promise you that this is no dream."

"How?"

"Do you trust me?"

I remained silent and adverted my gaze away from him. Do I trust him? His voice sounded sincere and the way he spoke and how he spoke to me told me that this was the true him, his old self before everything changed. He even looked the same. But, looks could be deceiving. But then why would he be trying so hard to win me back if he would just dump me again? So he could shatter any trust I had brought back.

The other voice in my head did have a point, but for some reason, I wanted to believe in Yami and give him a second chance. Pushing the voice aside, I took a few step towards him until he was only a foot away and grabbed his hand that was at his side.

"I... I trust you." I whispered and looked into the eyes that I had fallen for. "Please, don't misuse it." I didn't even know if I would be able to recover if he did.

My Dark closed the gap between us and squeezed my hand. Using his free hand, he cupped my face -And I used everything I had within me to not flinch- and told me, "I will never. I promise."

XxxxX

The walk home was rather quiet as we were both lost in our own thoughts. We walked hand in hand, staying close but with some space in between us. It was like Yami knew I didn't want to be close to where we were brushing. He just put the distance between us without asking, though I noticed from his eyes that he didn't want it like that. I felt bad, but at the same time I didn't. I needed that space. Being this close to someone again, I felt like my heart would break through my rib cage like it had a mind of it's own. Not because I was feeling giddy or love sick, but because I couldn't be close to someone without thinking about Ushio and having a panic attack...

We made it to the game shop all to soon. I noticed that Yami kept looking over at me every couple of minutes, making sure I was alright and not about to run away again. I didn't give him any clue to show that I noticed, just kept to myself and looked away.

Once we reached the door, Yami reached out and took the handle and slowly opened it. The bell ringed from being opened and I flinched from the sound. But before Yami could notice, I straightened up and let him led me into the dark shop.

The inside was warm and toasty and when the door was closed, it felt even better. My frozen nose that turned red with cold finally decided to defrost itself and I almost shivered in relief. Within a few minutes, I would be able to feel my nose again!

"Come on," Yami softly urged me as he gently squeezed my hand. I allowed him to pull me along as we headed towards the living room. The closer we got to the living quarters, the more I could make out some noise. It sounded like the soft talking of people. They were whispering. I swallowed nervously, realizing who was all in there.

As he exited the shop and into the house, I hesitated in step and felt a slight tugging from our connected hands.

Yami paused and looked over his shoulder to me. He noticed my eyes not on him, but on the door way that led to the room where more people were located. It didn't take a genius to realize my discomfort. But my darker half squeezed my hand once again.

"It's alright. I won't let anything happen." He might not understand my discomfort of wanting to go into the room filled with his friends, but he still tried.

I could only nod my head and swallowed the lump that formed in my throat without my notice. I began to walk with him again and before long, we turned the corner and appeared in the entry way of the living room.

Upon our arrival, the people in the room hushed up and all turned to us, watching us and not speaking. Slowly, they rose to their feet. They all stared at me and I would have flinched. But, that's when I noticed something. They weren't glaring at me. They weren't sneering or giving me bad looks. They were looking at me... with concerned looks. Why?

Before I had time to make assumptions for their looks, a certain blonde hair teen spoke, "About time y'all got home!"

Hearing him talk, loosened some others to speak. "We were worried." Ryou added and looked between me and Yami. His doe like brown eyes were wide with worry, especially when he caught sight of my appearance. I didn't think I looked that bad. But, it had been a while since I last saw my appearance so maybe I did look bad.

Standing right behind Ryou was his Dark. He looked at me like he always did but behind those glaring amber eyes, I could see a tiny, tiny spark of concern. "Is the runt okay?"

That was when the last straw blew. My face fell and a whimper escaped from my lips. My hand still holding Yami's squeezed his so hard I was afraid one of us would lose blood circulation. My eyes squeezed shut and the exact moment they did, a picture of Ushio popped into my mind. The bully was smirking at me with eyes full of lust. I remember clearly having my head slammed against the building in the foul smelling alley way. I remember him holding my hair and pulling it just to have my face thrown against the side of the wall again. I remember...

Without even realizing it, I backed up against the wall and slid down it, keeping my eyes tightly concealed. Tears squeezed out through my eyes and slid down my face and dripped off of my chin. My hand had been removed from Yami's and was now wrapped around my stomach along with my other hand as I hugged myself. My knees were against my chest and I bowed my head, trying to think about something different.

'_H-He's... always like that...' _I thought to myself and I felt myself start rocking. '_B-Bakura always c-called me that... W-why am I acting l-like this?'_ My another image of the bully was in my head and this time, I was starring up at him. He was saying something to me but I only had my vision, not my hearing working. But I knew he was saying something rude and gross and bad.

"No..." I heard myself whisper in a tone that I could only hear. '_Make it go away.' _I thought.

Something, probably a hand by the way it felt, touched my shoulder and remained there. I jumped about a foot into the air like a skittish cat and my eyes popped open. The first thing that popped out of my mouth was, "No, please!" Now that my eyes were opened, tears had free access to escape. They fell down my face.

"Yugi."

My blurry vision focused on the person in front of me. He was kneeling down in front of me with those concerned crimson eyes focused and locked onto mine. Behind him, Joey was there and so was Tea. They both looked stricken by my reaction to whatever it was that had happened.

"Was it something we said?" Joey whispered, his honey colored eyes never leaving my face. He turned to the last person who spoke but before he could demand anything from Bakura, Yami beat him to it.

"I think it's best if everyone went home." He took one last look at my face before standing up and turning to everyone.

Joey gazed back to Yami and looked ready to argue but a tap on his hand from his boyfriend made him swallow his words. He looked over at me -which I was now starring at the ground- and said in a defeated voice, "We'll see y'all tomorrow... You too, Yuge." He noticed the flinch but remained silent by it as he grabbed his boyfriend's hand and half dragged him out of the house.

One by one, everyone began to leave. When they past me, I kept my eyes glued to the carpet. The hikari's tried to say something to me but they were lost for words and ended up needing to have a gently push from their yami's to continue to leave. When the last person left, I still hadn't budged an inch, nor did I even speak.

For what seemed like years, I suddenly became aware that I had zoned out. When I came too, I realized that I was being cradled in the strong arms of my dark. I was curled up against his chest as he was walking up the stairs. From the contact of him holding me, my body tensed and I felt my throat close up. Panic swelled inside of me but before I could have a panic attack, Yami's cool, calm voice soothed me back down.

"Shh, it's alright, it's just me."

I don't know why I became relaxed again, I just did. I let him carry me up the remaining steps before I asked, "Where are we going?" My voice came out a little louder than a whisper and I cringed. My voice was hoarse and sounded tired. It sounded raw and horrible.

Yami didn't seem to mind though when he answered, "To your room. I figured you were tired and needed to rest." He turned his gaze onto me just as he stepped off the last step.

I nodded my head. A good nights sleep sounded nice right now. Maybe when I wake up in the morning I won't be all jumbled up with emotions and confusion. Maybe this was all one big nightmare and when I woke up, I'd be somewhere far from here. Then I wouldn't have to worry about getting hurt again.

My darker half entered my darkened room. He didn't bother with turning the light on, he just walked straight over to my bed where he ever so gently laid me down onto my back. As he was taking his arms back, he told me using a soft voice, "I'm truly sorry for everything that has happened, Yugi." And then he turned around and walked out of my room without another word.

**XxxxX**

**Wow... It's been a while huh? **

**Lisa: Try a month, stupid.**

**Alright alright, I've just been busy, is that a crime? At least I got the chapter out! Sorry it wasn't the best, but it was something! **

**And just for an FYI, I came to the end of my writing in a spiral. Meaning that not everything is really planned out from here. I have a really good idea of where everything is going, but it might take some time to get it written out.**

**Lisa: Better not take another month.**

**Ra no! I'll assure you guys that it definitely won't! But until next time guys! Thanks for staying with me!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sup guys! Before you start reading, I just wanted to announce that I finally got a Twitter account. **

**Lisa: And why would they care?**

**Well, I gave it some thought and I came up with, if you wanted, if you followed me (or if I just got followers plain out) I will start announcing where I am with my story. If I've started it or near end or needing help of if I need to announce that I need a break. I can just tweet it (that sounded so weird... o.o''). **

**Lisa: But don't you already have a blog for that?**

**I do. But I only have one person (who is awesome and she knows who she is). And lets be honest, I suck at trying to update it. I have the Twitter app (that's what it's called, right?) on my phone and you know how I always have my phone on me. So it'd be easier and what not. **

**It's just a thought though it you wanna follow me on it. If so, my name on it is _SusieQ_Duke _or you can just go to my profile and find the link (located next to the other links I have). If I get followers, awesome. If not, well, it wont hurt. But I will be posting the progress of my stories on it. You can be sure of it. **

**Alright, enough of my pointless chatter, on with the story. It was a little challenging to write, but I think I have it how I want it. :) **

**Lisa: Kairi certainly does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**Chapter Twelve**

"_I think I need to give you another lesson... A harsher punishment, hm?"_

"_You're a runt."_

"_No, I don't think that little smack to the face taught you anything..."_

"_So easy to pick on."_

"_He's tired of looking after you, Runt."_

"_He doesn't love you anymore."_

"_You're a burden; a waste of time."_

"_Do you feel lonely?"_

"_You're so pathetic it makes me want to laugh."_

"_Runt..."_

"_Burden..."_

"_Doesn't love you anymore..."_

"_Waste of time..."_

XxxxX

I bolted upright in bed, cold sweat trickling down the back of my neck. My heart was racing in my chest and I blindly clutched my heated skin where my heart lie underneath, not realizing my finger nails started to dig into my flesh. My mouth was dry and my eyes wide. I was panting like I had just ran a couple of miles without stopping. Glancing around wildly, I tried to place where I was at. It was a bit dark and it looked familiar. I was in a room.

Realizing that I was indeed in a room, a sigh of relief flew from my mouth. I took a gulp of air and tired to calm my beating heart.

"Thank Ra..." I whispered and fell back against the bed. I was in my room at home, not some stinking alley way. I closed my eyes and continued to calm my pulse. "It was a nightmare..." I said to no one in particular. "Just a nightmare..." That I had lived through, I thought but then pushed it way back in my head. I shouldn't be thinking about that memory. It caused to much pain and that pain, I didn't need nor want.

Giving myself a couple of more minutes to relax, I stared at the back of my eye lids and let my mind wonder about nothing in particular. I've had that nightmare wake me up multiple times before, but for some reason, it was worse than the other times. This time however, I was seeing images of Ushio's face sneering at me. And Yami was walking away.

I shook my head and opened my eyes again. "Stop thinking about that..." I told myself and slowly sat up in my bed. I rubbed my tired eyes and looked around my room again. This time my thoughts led me to the events from yesterday. Had Yami really done all of those things? Had he really come after me and not knowing what had been going on the last couple of months? Had I really forgiven him?

In a bitter-filled voice, I smiled with no amusement and said, "Yeah right. That was probably all just a dream my mind created from my hurt and pain." I shook my head, not believing any of that had happened. How could it? Yami actually not remembering anything? You had to of remembered something. That was just hard to believe.

Slowly, I got out of my bed and realized I wasn't really cold. Why that was the first thing that popped into my head was beyond me. Stealing a glance downwards, I realized that I was still fully clothed from yesterday. My jeans were still in place with everything in my pockets and my white shirt was wrinkled from having slept in it. My shoes were surprisingly not on my feet but my socks were. But, what surprised me the most was the jacket that I wore. It wasn't mine; I didn't own leather of anything. The only person who did was…

My head snapped upwards to the door. Curiously, but with caution mixed in, I walked over to it and opened it up. I poked my head out and glance to my left. Besides the hallway being a bit dark, I could make out that Yami's door to his room was wide opened, meaning he was awake. I switched my gaze over to my right and took a hesitant step in that direction. Another step followed and then another. Soon enough, I was out of my room and on the stairs walking down.

I heard the TV on low by the time I made it to the bottom steps. So he was watching TV. Taking my time, I walked into the living room. Yami was laying sprawled out on the couch, wearing some dark blue flannel pajama pants and a black tank top as his night shirt. He had a blanket thrown over his legs to protect his feet -assuming he didn't have socks on- and a pillow on his check. His attention was focused on the cartoon show and he didn't hear me come in.

I paused at the door frame and watched him for a minute. He looked relaxed and had a small smile from one of the cheesy jokes the show just announced. Just like normal. He was at ease. But... I found him like this a lot in the last couple of weeks. Are things still the same or did it really change?

The TV went to commercial so Yami reached forward to grab the controls from the coffee table in front of the couch. In doing so, he caught sight of me from the corner of his eye and he turned his head to me. Instead of his gaze going right through me like it used to, his eyes met mine and I could have sworn they lit up.

"Good morning." He gently said, being reminded of yesterday of my fragile state.

I didn't say anything except move my eyes away from his. They wondered over to the TV screen where the commercial was talking about some new show coming on in a couple of weeks. I stayed where I was, wondering what to do. So... it seems like yesterday really did happen and it wasn't some dream. What do I do now?

Yami bit the inside of his cheek as he kept his eyes on my face. He cleared his throat and my attention flickered back over to him. "Did you … want to sit down?" He gestured to the rest of the couch in which he swung his legs off the side to sit up. He picked the blanket up off of him and balled it up and placed it in his lap next to the pillow.

"Um..." Was what came out of my mouth. Did I want to sit next to him? Part of me screamed yes but there was the other part, the hesitant part that said no. Would he hurt me if I sat down next to him? Would he ignore me? I bit my bottom lip and my feet moved without an answer.

My darker half faintly smiled as he saw me walk over to the couch. He scooted a little over to give me enough room to sit -possible enough distance just in case- and kept his attention on me as I tucked my legs underneath me when I sat. Without even noticing it, I curled up in the corner of the couch on the other side.

"So... Did you sleep well?" Yami asked after a minute of silence. He shifted in his seat, trying to get a conversation going.

I nodded my head and kept my attention on the TV, despite it being on commercials. "Yes, thanks." I softly said. From the corner of my eye, I saw Yami nod his head. My fingers started to mess with the zipper of the borrowed jacket before I remembered who it belonged to. Blinking my eyes, I mentally rolled my eyes and in swift motions, brought my arms out of the warm sleeves. I folded the dark yet warm material in my arms before turning and giving it back to it's proper owner. "Thanks..." I told him.

Yami took his jacket back and laid it over the arm of the couch. "No problem." He said and turned back to me but I quickly returned my gaze back to the TV.

It became quiet between us as the commercials ended and the show Yami had been watching earlier came back on. An old rerun of an American show called _Tom and Jerry. _With our attentions drawn to the funny show, Yami didn't try to bring up another conversation.

After watching two straight episodes in a row without talking, Yami cleared his throat after the show ended. "Were you hungry, Yugi?" He asked.

My smile faded from my face and I turned to him. "Not really." I told him and meant it. My stomach wasn't growling, it never really did in the mornings anymore. But what was weird, it should have made a noise, telling me to eat. When was the last time I ate? What exactly did I eat? A peanut butter and jelly sandwich around four o'clock yesterday, my mind seemed to answer for me.

Yami frowned. "Are you sure?" I nodded my head. "When was the last time you ate?"

Shrugging my shoulders, I lied to him, "I don't really remember." My darker half was a big fan of eating breakfast in the morning, claiming that it was the most important meal of the day (which he got from me a long time ago). He always used to make sure I had time to eat so I wouldn't forget. And when I did, I was scowled at like a little child. And then he would tease me about my lack of eating breakfast on school mornings was the cause of my height issue.

The ancient pharaoh from long ago eyed me, an eye brow raised and his arms crossed at his chest. "You don't remember, hm?" I slowly nodded my head. "Then you're hungry." It wasn't a question but a statement.

"No..." I spoke with a hesitant voice, not really sure anymore.

We sat there, watching each other. I really didn't understand what was going on and I didn't know if I had even wanted to. But I just sat there.

After a minute, Yami jumped to his feet, startling me for a minute. I quickly recovered when he held out his hands for me to take and said, "I'll make you something."

I eyed his hands and without taking my eyes off of them, I told him, "But you can't cook."

"I can make scrambled eggs now." He said, sounding a bit proud of himself.

Looking up into his eyes, I carefully placed my hands into his and let him pull me to my feet. As soon as I was standing up proper, he dropped one of my hands and kept his other firmly around mine as he gently pulled me into the kitchen. I followed him but didn't make any move to hold his hand. I just... couldn't.

He led me to the table in which he pulled out a chair and guided me until I sat down. He squeezed my hand and then let go. "Stay..." He told me like I was about to get up. He halfway smiled at me and walked over to the fridge when he noticed I sat and tried to get comfortable.

It felt like there was a war going on inside my mind. It was hard to explain let alone hard to follow. Here I was, allowing Yami to led me places and let him feed me when my mind was telling me not to trust him. After all that has happened in the last couple of months, I shouldn't be trusting him. I shouldn't let him pretend things were back to normal. I shouldn't have believed him yesterday at all. I should have stayed by myself and left. I should have moved away and never looked back. But, I didn't. I didn't because... because deep down I was wanting all of this to happen. I wanted things to go back to normal. I knew it was going to take time, a lot of time for things to return to the way it used to be, but I was okay with that.

And that was what the war was about in my head; wanting to trust him but not wanting to trust him.

But then my old saying would come and announce itself. The saying to give him a second chance. The saying to forgive him. What he did was horrible, but it could be forgiven. It would just take some time.

I watched as Yami pulled out the egg carton, the butter and the milk and placed them on the counter next to the stove. He pulled the orange juice contained out and placed it next to the milk before allowing the door to swing shut. Walking over to the counter next to the sink, he pulled a clean small bowl out of the cabinet and walked over to the stove where he placed it down.

As he began to crack the eggs into the bowl, I thought about how hard he was trying. He tried to talk to me a couple of times this morning already, he was making me breakfast. He was caring about me. I could already see what was going to happen today; him trying even harder to make things right. That was just how he was.

My hand drummed absently on the table top. Maybe I should try and show that I wanted him back too...

"Do you need any help?" I asked timidly, taking baby steps.

Yami looked up from grabbing a skillet from the cabinet and smiled. He shook his head and was about to say no when he paused. "Actually, do you mind pouring the juice?" He gestured with his head to the orange juice left on the counter and two cups sitting next to it.

I nodded my head and stood up from my seat and headed over to pour the drinks. We worked side by side in silence. The only noise that could be heard was the stove top clicking on and off to show that it was warming up and the butter in the skillet softly bubbling.

"Yugi..." Yami said after a couple of minutes. I looked up after finishing pouring the last of the juice and turned to him. He was slowly stirring the eggs and milk together with his gaze focused on the mixture in front of him. I waited for him to say something. After a minute, he shook his head and said, "never mind."

I blinked but didn't question him. Looking back to my handy work, I screwed the cap back on the orange juice container before placing it back into the fridge. I leaned against the counter, wondering what to do now.

The other in the room poured the mixture into the hot pan and began to scrap the sides as the egg started to cook. "You can set the table if you'd like." Yami suggested without looking up. I nodded my head and got to work on setting the table for two.

Just as I placed the last of the silverware down next to the plate, the phone rang. Like a skittish cat, I jumped and my head went in the direction of where the phone was. Yami noticed my reaction but didn't say anything.

"I'll answer it if you watch over the eggs," He suggested and I looked over to him. Wordlessly, I made my way over to the oven when he was standing. Hesitantly, I took the spatula from him and poked the cooking eggs with it. "Don't let them burn," he joked and I looked up with a pout. Quickly, he wondered out of the kitchen and made it to the phone on the third ring.

"Mutou residence, Yami speaking." I heard him answer from the hallway. My gaze had followed him until I couldn't see him anymore. With him out of the room, I returned my attention to the eggs. Scrapping the sides of the pan, I listened to what Yami was saying.

"Hey, what's up?" So it was someone he knew. Probably Joey. I looked over to the clock on the wall and noticed it was a little after nine thirty am. Yup, only Joey called this early. "Wait, really? … No, that's alright; I don't want anyone to slip and fall. … Yes, we'll meet up tomorrow or something."

Still listening to the one-sided conversation, I turned the stove off and moved the skillet to a different burner since the eggs were fully cooked and walked over to the toaster. I grabbed the bread from the cabinet right above the machine and slipped two slices into it before pushing the button down to cook the bread.

Without realizing it until now, Yami's voice wasn't as loud as it had been when he answered the phone. I could hear him mumbling in the other room, but it wasn't clear. Producing a small frown, I strained to hear while staying where I was, leaning against the counter.

There was a pause and then, "Yes, he's doing good. He didn't really talk this morning. … I don't know, but I'm going to give him time to get used to everything. Whatever happened effected him really bad. … No, I'm going to wait to ask him. I want him to be comfortable around me again first. … Yes. … I don't know to be honest, but I'll give him as much time he needs, even if it takes weeks or months. In my eyes, he has all the time in the world. I love him and if that means I have to wait for him and give him space, I don't care how long it takes."

I felt my eyes water from hearing those words. To hear him say that, even if it wasn't to my face, caused something in me to break. I don't know what it was, but I just knew it broke. A pain in my chest became known and a lump formed in my throat. I felt fragile and a couple of tears slid from my eyes. I didn't do anything to brush them away as I stared at the ground.

There was a silence for maybe a minute before Yami's voice became loud again like how he answered the phone. "Yup. But hey, I'll talk to you later; Yugi and I were about to eat breakfast. And before you ask, scrambled eggs. … I know but maybe next time." There was a soft chuckle. "Uh huh. I'll talk to you later. Bye." The sound of the phone going back on it's holder and then the soft footsteps coming back into the kitchen was heard. I didn't even try to cover up my tears when Yami entered the kitchen.

"That was Joey. He said that it's snowing pretty heavy outside so no one is coming ov- Yugi? What's wrong?"

I remained looking at the ground and didn't move when he rushed over to me. I didn't answer his question except for a sob escaping my throat.

"What's wrong?" His soft voice reached my ears. He made a move to hold my face so I would have to look up into him, but he never got to as I suddenly threw myself at him. My arms circled him and I clung to him like my legs were about to give out on me. I buried my face into his shoulder and cried my eyes out. I didn't say anything. I didn't want to say anything. I just wanted to hug him and be safe like I used to be. I didn't want to be ignored anymore or be scared all the time. I didn't want to flinch every time someone touched me or cry when someone comes near me. I didn't want to be alone in my room, crying because my world gone down the drain. I wanted to be here, in my dark's arms while he held me. I wanted to be safe and near him. I wanted to be loved again. I wanted things to go back to normal. But... the only way for that to happen was if I allowed it.

Hearing Yami talk on the phone about him waiting for me, I realized I could take weeks or months or maybe even years to recover from what happened over the months of solitude. It all depended on when I really wanted to accept people back into my life. I had the choice of when I wanted that to happen. I could take weeks or months, but then again, I didn't have to. I could just face my fears and try to start healing now. I didn't want to take forever to heal when I could just accept it now and be on the path to be reunited with everyone and everything I missed. Today, I could start this all. And that was exactly what I was planning on doing.

I felt strong arms wrap around me as Yami hugged me back. I gritted my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut. To start healing, I needed to be okay with this movement. I needed... no, I _had _to allow people to touch me and hug me and not jump like a skittish cat and think of what happened to me. I needed to let the past go and move forward. I needed to accept what happened to me and push it aside (for now).

I squeezed Yami tighter to me, lost for words. And that was how we stayed for the next couple of minutes. Me finally accepting everything and ready to move on and heal, and Yami confused as hell but here for me in my time of need. This was the beginning to my path of healing.

**XxxxX**

**Well, that was a interesting ending if I do say so myself. I was getting so into the emotions that my fingers were literally flying over the key board. I don't know how great it all sounds, but that's up to y'all if y'all like it or not. **

**Next chapter will be about Yugi slowly allowing everything to come together. There will be fluff between him and Yami. Nothing like kissing, just cuddling. I don't really know what will be in the chapter, so here's your chance. If you wanna give some small suggestions, I'll definitely give it some thought! I just don't know what I want to do. And it'll only be Yami and Yugi in this chapter. The rest of the gang won't be there yet. **

**Tell me whatcha think! See y'all later!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Special thanks to DarkHeartInTheSky for giving me an idea for this chapter! Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I hereby claim that I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! In anyway. I only own my own idea and my own OC's but nothing else. **

**Chapter Thirteen**

"What about this movie?"

I shook my head, not interested in watching a slow movie. _Lord of the Rings _was a great movie, but it just took too long.

As if reading my thoughts, Yami rolled his eyes and said, "The point is trying to find something long that will keep our attention. There isn't much else we can do besides watching TV. Or movies." He added.

I watched as Yami scrolled through all of the name titles that were playing on the TV. Some of them I never heard of and didn't feel like watching while others just didn't catch my attention. Some of the movies were old while others were a couple of months new to DVD. And the rest were in the middle. Movies like _John Wayne _ and _Snow White _the Disney version to _Cars 2 _and _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows _Part two.

He continued to scroll through the list when something caught my eye. "Go back one!" I announced and he paused before clicking back one. I grinned at the title.

Yami frowned as he read out loud, "Ever After? Isn't that a chick flick?"

"And a good one at that." I responded and looked over to where he had the controller in his hand. He didn't push the Select button but his finger was resting on it. Knowing he needed help pushing the button, I reached over and clicked it for him before turned back to get comfortable.

My darker half shrugged his shoulders as he laid the controller back on the coffee table and slipped his arms around me to get comfortable. We were both on the couch, Yami laying halfway up with me lying on his chest like a pillow. We had been like this for the last couple of hours, just watching old cartoon reruns and then movies when we got bored. Breakfast seemed like forever ago, so did Yami's conversation with Joey over the phone.

After Yami had got me to quit crying, he didn't ask why I cried but just held me. He whispered small loving words and sometimes he would say something funny to get me to laugh. It worked because soon I would giggle and the tears stopped coming. After that, we ate breakfast. I had to choke down everything and when it tried to come back up, I forced it down, not that Yami noticed. I helped him wash the dishes and then we went to the couch to continue to watch TV. And that's were we've been since the morning. No questions asked.

After about ten minutes of being in the movie, Yami whispered next to my ear, "What would you like to do after the movie is over?"

Without taking my eyes off of the screen, I slightly shrugged my shoulders and said, "I don't know." Talking with him was becoming easier for me, just like it used to. I didn't have to force myself and I certainly didn't have any reason to be scared."There isn't much to do while we are snowed in."

"True." He leaned back so he could watch the movie.

After a couple of minutes, I tilted my head upwards on his chest. "Is there anything you'd like to do?"

Yami turned to face me. His crimson colored eyes were warm against mine when he too, shrugged. "Nothing I can think of."

"You're not bored, are you?"

"And what makes you say that?"

I just shrugged my shoulders once again and turned back to the movie playing. But Yami wanted an answer so he pestered me, "Huh? What makes you say that?"

"I don't know." I tried my best to hide a smile. Within only a couple of hours, I felt normal again. Well, normal in a way. I wasn't flinchy around him and I was actually relaxing. Can you believe that?! I questioned myself why it was going so fast, but I just shrugged my shoulders and pushed it aside. I'm healing. That can go as fast or slow as it wants. Who am I to question that? (Even if it's my own body).

"You don't know, hm?" Yami raised an eyebrow that I didn't see. Before he could move or say anything else, however, I reached blindly above me -keeping my eyes on the TV- and tried to find his mouth. I found it and sloppily covered his mouth with my hand.

"Shh, I'm trying to watch this." I tried to keep my voice and facial expressions serious.

Yami frowned at being shushed. So what does he do that everyone does when someone covers their mouth? He licked my hand. Yup, that's right. He licked me, the all powerful pharaoh from ancient times licked me.

A noise escaped from my throat that sounded close to a squeak and I pulled my hand away from his mouth at record speeds. "Gross!" I yelped and wiped my palm on my pants.

"Hey, you had that coming." He told me and chuckled. And gently squeezed me in a hug.

"Even so, I was trying to hush you up." I mumbled. "I'm trying to watch this..."

Hearing the pout in my voice, Yami rolled his eyes and squeezed me one last time before leaning close once again and softly told me, "Alright, I'll leave you alone." He kissed my temple and added as he was leaning back, "For now."

XxxxX

**Danny's POV**

He couldn't believe it, he wouldn't believe it. Why had that … bastard showed up? Why did he sound like he actually cared for Yugi? Maybe he was trying to make it look like he cared so Yugi would let his guard down and when it was down, Yami would come in and break Yugi even more. Maybe that's the reason.

Danny slammed his fists on his table, shaking the books and his computer monitor to where they almost fell off. He ignored it and tightened his fists until he felt his nails dig into his skin. But that didn't seem to have any effect on him.

"I should have gone after him..." He whispered. He glared at the monitor in front of him. He was signed into Skype and had a chat ready for Yugi so they could talk. So he could explain things better. Back at the park, he didn't get to explain anything because that Yami kid showed up. If it wasn't for him, maybe Yugi would understand. But now, Yugi was god knows where with the bastard. He shouldn't have gone home, he should have ignored the bastard and run after the boy he was falling for.

"But of course I didn't do that," He muttered in a bitter-filled tone. His room was dark save from his computer's screen. He had been sitting here for the last couple of hours, only leaving to use the restroom. He was waiting for the boy to come on, even once. But, Yugi hadn't; it's been almost twenty-four hours since the last log-in for him. He was regretting not ever going after him more and more.

A minute passed by and Danny had enough sitting at his desk. With a start, he abruptly stood up with such a force, the chair he was sitting on was pushed back and it toppled over. It landed with a small crash. From the force of the impact, a couple of packing boxes that were stacked on top of one another fell off. Luckily they were empty save for a couple of books. When they hit the ground, they made a loud racket against the silent house.

"Danny!" A feminine voice hollered and sounded through his closed door. "What was that?"

Looking up at the door, he yelled back, "Nothing, ma! Just had some things fall." He glanced away at his fallen things before he turned his head. He shook his head, disgusted at himself for being so enraged that he was causing a disturbance with his family.

"Alright. Well, dinner is almost ready!" The voice came again.

He ignored it and uncurled his hands before rubbing his face. "What the hell am I supposed to do?" He softly said under his breath. He wanted to see Yugi, he really did. He wanted to explain things and show that he wasn't a bad guy. Just because he was apart of Ushio's gang didn't make his all that bad. Yugi didn't understand anything about all that. If he could just explain things.

Barely making any noise, he walked over to his window next to his bed. He pulled back his black-out curtains and had to shield his eyes away from the sudden white light that filled his room. When he felt his eyes adjust, he turned to face the outside.

Snow was everywhere. On the streets, cars, grass and trees. It looked deep, the snow. Maybe almost a foot. Maybe more. There was hardly anyone outside. A couple of kids playing in the snow; snow ball fights, making snowmen and snow angels. But that was about it. There weren't even cars out. The snow had pretty much blocked everything off. And there was no way he was going to make it to Yugi's house in all of this.

"I'll have to see him soon. I need to make things right..." And then he added to where he couldn't even hear it, "I have to tell him how I feel before it's to late."

Turning away from his window, he went to his door so he could escape his room and eat a nice meal with his family. In his mind, he was hoping to get a chance to talk with Yugi sooner than soon.

XxxxX

**Yami's POV**

Things were starting off slowly with his light, but he was okay with that. From last night to now, he saw a change in Yugi. Now, instead of being silent, he was just quiet. He would talk normal, sometimes still in a soft tone, but he was still talking. He was allowing for small talk and he was allowing outside touch. He would sometimes still flinch away, like something bad happened to him, but he was getting better.

Yami had to admit, he was getting curious about the past couple of months. What had Yugi done? What had happened to him that made him so flinchy? He wanted to know what was up with Danny yesterday. He knew that bully had information, information he needed, but he could get all of that from Yugi. He just had to wait. Even if it took weeks, he would still wait.

Thinking to himself, he pondered, '_Whatever Yugi went through, I just want him to know that I'm here for him. Forcing him to talk about the past will not help in anyway. Whenever he's ready, he'll talk. All he needs is time.' _

Letting out a yawn, Yami looked over to the TV set's clock. It's digital green numbers read 6:23 pm. They had been on the couch the whole day, ever since breakfast. And that was a total of eight hours of watching TV and movies. They never did eat lunch...

Speaking of food, Yami could feel a little rumble in his tummy. He took his eyes away from the clock and glanced down at his light still lying on him, using him as a pillow. Yugi was concentrated on the end of the movie known as _How to Train Your Dragon. _He had a few tears in his eyes from watching the father -Stoick the Vast- holding his unconscious son -Hiccup- in his arms. The dragon Toothless was near by, watching the two and all of the extra characters were in the background, tears in their eyes.

Knowing how it ended, Yami leaned forward a bit and whispered into his hikari's ear, "Are you hungry?"

Yugi blinked a couple of times, having completely zoned out. He titled his head to the side to gaze at his yami and shrugged his shoulders, "Kind of..."

Rolling his eyes Yami smiled, "When the movie ends, we'll find and fix something. Sound good to you?"

He nodded his head, his eyes going distracted again and he turned his head back to the movie to finish it.

Yami sighed. His partner was easily distracted with movies. But, he had to admit, he'd rather have that than a talkative partner. A.K.A Bakura or Marik or even Joey. Those three, mostly the first two names mentioned, couldn't sit through a whole movie without talking, much less ten minutes of one. Unless it was action and had a lot of gore. Then they'd pay attention.

A couple of minutes later, the movie finally ended. Yugi reached forward and grabbed the controls and turned the TV off. He sat up and pushed his arms out in front of him and stretched his arms and back and let out a yawn.

Yami did the same but he stood up to stretch, after he got the rest of his body back that is. He stretched his back a little and popped his neck gently.

"What would you like to eat?" He asked when Yugi stood up. Together, the two started to head for the kitchen.

Yugi thought about the question. He really didn't know and he was about to open his mouth to voice his thoughts when the phone rang to their right. He jumped about a foot into the air and was immediately behind Yami without a moments notice.

Yami frowned at the sudden movement and turned to his Light. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah," Yugi said, his eyes wide as the phone rang again. "J-just startled me..." He eyed the ringing phone like it was about to come alive and flash some big wolf like teeth.

"Uh huh..." Yami glanced between the phone and his light. "How 'bout you go find something in the kitchen to eat while I get the phone." He suggested. Yugi nodded, looking relieved and left his side and ventured off into the area containing the food.

After watching him leave the room, Yami walked over to the phone and picked it up, putting the receiver to his ear. "Mutou's residence, this is Yami speaking." He stood by the phone in a relaxed stance and stared at the wall, wondering who was calling.

"_Yami?"_ A masculine voice replied on the other end. A very familiar male's voice at the sound of that.

Yami's eyes widen. It's been a couple of months since he's heard this particular voice. "Jii-chan?" He asked. His stance went a little stiff.

"_Yes, my boy, it's me." _Grandpa's voice didn't hold the normal cheery tone it usually had. Instead, it sounded strain and nervous. But, what could he be nervous about? "_I have a question for you, Yami and I need you to be completely honest with me."_

The teen frowned, wondering what he wanted to ask. "What is it, Jii-chan?"

"_It's about Yugi... I... something is wrong, I just know it. Is he alright?" _There was a sense of urgency in his voice that filled the teen with dread. "_Nothing has happened to him, right? He's still alive and there with you, right? Please, Yami, I need to know."_

He stayed quiet for a minute. There was heavy breathing on the other end as the two stayed silent.

Finally, after a minute, Yami said in a soft voice so Yugi wouldn't be able to hear him, "He's fine... He's in the kitchen right now but he's fine..." He swallowed, finding it difficult to speak. Something was nagging at the back of his mind and he couldn't place what it was.

There was a sigh on the other end before Solomon asked, "_Are you absolutely sure?"_

"Yes... Now answer me this, Jii-chan." Yami said, figuring out what the nagging sensation was about. "From the time you were away, did you ever think about Yugi? Was he ever on your mind? Did you ever talk about him?"

There was more silence and this time, it lasted a little longer.

"_No... I didn't." _Was the final answer. Solomon sounded so broken when he spoke that Yami closed his eyes and leaned forward so his forehead rested on the wall. "_Yugi was never in my thoughts. Any time someone asked me if I had a grandson, I never answered them. It was like I forgot all about him. Everything. Even the picture of you two in my wallet. I knew who you were but not Yugi... I... I don't understand this. What is going on? Why couldn't I remember him, Yami?"_

"I... I don't know." And he truly didn't. "But I can tell you this: whatever made you forget happened over here. Joey and everyone else, including myself... we ignored him and forgot all about him. It wasn't until yesterday we remember and that was because... Yugi and I had a fight. I hardly remember anything that happened. But what I do remember is exactly what you're feeling."

"_So it wasn't just me who forgot my grandson... it was everyone." I_t wasn't a question but a statement.

Even though he couldn't see him, Yami nodded his head against the wall. "Yes."

"_What is going on?" _Solomon asked, confused.

"I don't know... I don't know." Yami answered and opened his eyes again. He turned his head in the direction of the kitchen and heard his Light rummaging in the pantry. Whatever happened wasn't just to him and the gang, but it also effected someone who was in Egypt. Whatever was going on was something big.

**XxxxX**

**Until next time everyone! **


	14. Chapter 14

**Just wanted to say that Yugi's healing process is going by a little fast. Faster than it's supposed to. Why that is, is because I don't want to write boring details as much as you probably don't want to read it. I like the pace I'm going with Yugi. Most of the time. Just an FYI. **

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: If I were to own Yu-Gi-Oh! Then the plot would be so different. But sadly, I don't own it so it stays the same. :/ **

**Chapter Fourteen**

"_You're a runt…"_

"_He doesn't love you anymore…"_

"_You're a waste of time…"_

"_Now you'll always be mine…"_

XxxxX

My eyes flashed opened as a sudden pain sparked through my side. It was a sharp pain that staying still was hurting even more. I sat upright in my bed and immediately lifted my shirt halfway up to look at my stomach; the source of the pain. The pain was dulling to just an annoying ache as my warm fingers traced over the healed skin on my lower stomach. It had been weeks since I woke up to my scar hurting. Why it was hurting now, after being healed, was a wonder to me.

"Aibou?" A sleepy voice came from my right along with the blankets being moved.

I released my shirt as well as my haunting thoughts and looked beside me. Yami sat up next to me, rubbing his eyes to get the sleep out. Knowing that I needed to answer him, I softly said, "Y-yeah?" My voice seemed to echo around in the quiet bedroom we were in. The nightmare was still on my mind, causing me to stutter. The last sentence was echoing around in my head, causing my scar to give off a faint ache.

"Everything alright?" He asked. He blinked and all of the sleep presented just a couple of seconds before vanished as he got a look at me. Concern flashed through his eyes as his hand found its way to cup my cheek. His thumb brushed away – wait, was I crying?

My hand automatically flew to my face to discover silent tears sliding down my face. They were slow going and hot from the chilled air in my room.

"I-I," I was lost for words. Why was I crying? I didn't think the pain from my scar hurt _that _much.

Before I could explain why I was crying, Yami released my face and pulled me to him. My head leaned against his chest as he hugged me close. Slowly, he started to rub small circles on my back. "Shh, it's alright." He told me in a soft voice. "Whatever it was, it was just a dream."

As much as I wanted to correct him that it wasn't a dream but a memory, a bad memory, I couldn't. These memoires weren't something that I could easily tell him. These memories should have stayed as memoires and been stored in the back of my mind where I would never find them again. But of course they weren't. They were out in the open now. And as much as I could, I was mentally shoving them back out of my mind.

"I'm s-sorry…" I mumbled into his chest, slowly feeling relaxed. Whatever he was doing was working. My mind wasn't as frantic with pain or worry or fear as it had been when I woke up. The nightmare was slowly fading along with the left over pain.

Yami didn't stop holding me as he asked, "For what?"

"I don't know…" I whispered. Apologizing just seemed right to say at the time. I was honest in saying I didn't know why but a part of me was already discovering why. And that part wasn't going to explain. I was sorry for waking him up to instantly getting worried over my nightmare. But I couldn't tell him.

Sensing there was more to this than I was letting on, Yami paused with rubbing my back and gently pulled me back to look at my face. He was slightly frowning as his eyes were deep in thought. Brushing a strand of my bangs away, he told me, "Do you want to talk about it?"

I gazed up into his eyes and chewed my lip nervously for a minute. As much as I wanted to, I knew I couldn't. These 'dreams' of mine were not something I could easily talk about, even if it were to Yami. I wasn't comfortable in telling him what had happened to me a couple of weeks ago. He didn't need to know any of this… at least, not yet.

I shook my head and looked away. "I'm fine." I lied. "It was just a dream… I hardly remember it anymore anyways."

I failed to see the look of sadness cross my darkness face.

XxxxX

A couple of hours later, I found myself laying on the couch reading a magazine left unattended on the coffee table. The mail had come earlier today and the magazine was with it. Finally, something I could read that I hadn't already! Yami was upstairs taking a shower so I was left by myself, having already taken one.

Since the weather outside was still bad, the shop remained closed. But the weather wasn't as bad anymore to keep people locked up inside. If the mailman was outside doing his job, then you know there was going to be adventurous people out and about. Only a few shops would be opened like the grocery store, some cafes, restaurants, movie theatre and a few other big ones. Mostly just places for people to escape their home and get out to enjoy some peace.

I turned the page and began reading the next one when the phone let out its obnoxious ring. I jumped into a sitting position, the magazine in my hands being jerked from my grasp and fell to the couch cushion. My eyes flickered to the wall where the phone was sitting on the end table. They then switched to the stairs, waiting for Yami to come downstairs to answer it. But when the third ring came and there was no sound of running footsteps from upstairs, I bit back a sigh and stood up.

I walked over to the phone and stood next to it, hesitantly holding my hand over the plastic device. Answering the phone was not something I liked to do anymore. I always felt nervous that there was an anger person on the other end. But other than that, I just didn't like to answer it because of nerves. A couple of months ago, Yami and I used to play fight over each other to see who answered. We used to tackle each other. Most of the time Yami was the one who won, but I did have my days. And I didn't always cheat.

One more ring and I knew the phone was about to switch over to the answering machine. After years of growing up in the game shop, the number of rings on the phone was just something you came to memorize. Before I let the machine take the call, I picked the phone up and put the receiver to my mouth.

"Hello, Mutou's residence, this is Yugi speaking." I mumbled softly.

The voice on the other line was a bit loud that I had to pull the phone a little from my ear to risk having my right ear go deaf. "_Yugi!" _The rather familiar voice said on the other end. His Brooklyn accent was easy to tell who was talking, compare to everyone else.

"Hi…"

"_How are you?" _Instead of Joey's voice being hyper and excited, there was a hint of hesitation in his voice. He was being careful of what he was saying, not trying to upset me. I could tell from just those three words.

I bit my lip, a little uncomfortable but answered him anyways, "I'm fine… How're you?"

"_Oh you know, the usual… Bored out of my mind!" _There was a groan on his end. _"I haven't gone outside in for so long! The snow is killing me!"_

I couldn't help but have a small smile reach my lips. Joey was always full of energy and could make anyone laugh given the circumstances. "It only started snowing yesterday."

"_And? It kept me inside all day yesterday. If it weren't for Mokuba, I would have gone insane!" _There was a frustrated sigh on his end and I could almost picture his crossing his arms against his chest. "_So are you doing anything today or are you gonna stay inside all day again?" _

I looked down at the ground where my sock covered toe made small circles in the carpet. "Well, Yami wanted to go out to get something to eat." My voice came out soft but Joey would still be able to hear me. "Like you, he's going insane being cooped up in the house."

"_Would it be alright if a few of us joined you?" _He asked. His hesitation was back.

"Um…"

"_It's alright if you don't want us too." _Joey quickly put it before anything else could be said. "_It's just been a while since we all hanged out last, you know? But it's cool if you just want to be with Yami. I understand it all."_

I knew he wasn't doing it on purpose, but I felt a little guilty. He wanted to hang out and get things back to normal, I could tell he was trying. But, was I ready to be around everyone again?I didn't want to have a mental breakdown in front of them and I certainly did not want have a panic attack. But, being around them would help with my situation.

Having not spoken, Joey took the hint. "_It's alright, Yuge. We'll hang out some other time." _There wasn't any disappointment in his voice.

"Who all will be going?" I asked, ignoring his comment.

Almost picturing the blonde smiling on the other end, Joey answered, "_Well, it'll just be me, Ryou, Bakura, Malik, and Marik. Seto has work to catch up on and Tristan and Duke were spending time together. As for Tea, I don't know what she was doing today."_

So Joey and the yami's and hikari's were going. It wasn't _that_ many people…

"Alright." I said, feeling an emotion of dread fill the pit of my stomach. "We'll meet you guys at the café we always go to in twenty minutes."

"_Sweet! See you then, Yuge!" _Joey said and we both hung up at the same time.

As soon as I set the phone down, my legs felt a little shaky like they were straining under my weight. The nerves in my stomach were from the fact that I was going to be around more people than just one. I was finally just getting used to Yami and now I was pushing myself to hang out with five other people. What the hell was I doing to myself?

"Are you alright, aibou?" A soft voice whispered next to my ear before two strong arms wrapped around my waist from behind.

I tensed from the touched but forced myself to relax a half second later. I leaned back against him and barely spoke, "I don't know."

Yami was quiet for a minute before he gently squeezed me and asked, "Who was on the phone?"

"Joey…"

"And?"

My eyes seemed glued to the wall while I spoke. "He and a few others are going to meet us at the café in a few."

More silence followed my words. I felt the steady heartbeat of my dark under my ear when I shifted a little to lean the side of my head against him. Blinking my eyes, I turned around to gaze up into his eyes where they found my easily. He searched them, looking for an answer.

"Are you sure you're ready to be around other people?" He asked gently and took one of his arms back to brush a stray bang out of my eyes. There was hesitation on my part and he continued, "Don't force yourself to do something you're not ready for, aibou. If you do not feel comfortable, then just say so. Everyone will understand."

I took his words into consideration and bit my lower lip. Part of me was ready to say okay and go back to sitting on the couch to stay home while the other part wanted to go out and be around other people. I needed to be around other people to heal. I knew I was moving a little too fast than what I was supposed to be, maybe because I was ready to let go of the past and have everything go back to normal, but I couldn't always stay at home and hide.

After a moment of debating, I looked into his eyes after having turned away to think, and took him in a voice I thought was normal, "I want to go."

Yami stayed quiet and never took his eyes off of mine. It was like he was reading my mind, starring that deep, to find why I wanted to go. Given a minute, he nodded his head. "Alright, if you're sure." I nodded my head also to show I was. "But, if there's any sort of distress, we're going home, alright?" I gave him a look of pout and opened my mouth to protest when his free hand went to my mouth, his fore finger pressed against my lips. "Only because you need to be taking simple steps. If you're getting stressed, it wouldn't help to stay with other people."

I kept my pout and nodded my head, seeing his point. When he removed his finger, I huffed but asked him, "Are you ready to leave?"

XxxxX

"How are you doing, Yugi?" Ryou asked, holding his cup of hot chocolate in front of him with both hands. Either to warm his fingers or giving them something to do.

At the back of the café next to the windows, the seven of us were squished around a table. I was sitting with the window on my right and Yami sitting down at my left. Ryou was sitting right across from me with Malik next to him and Marik next to him. Sitting on the other side of Yami was Bakura and at the end was Joey. We each had our own drinks, all something hot minus Joey who got a Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino. Most of the cups, however, were left unattended as we sat in an awkward silence. No one knew what to saying, all because of me. It wasn't until Ryou, being the closest to me besides Yami and Joey, spoke up to break the silence.

I look up from my own hot chocolate, realizing he was speaking to me. "G-good." I answered. I swallowed nervously, my fingers drumming on the sides of my rather warm mug. Without even having to look, I could feel multiple different pair of eyes on me. Strange enough, both Bakura and Marik were watching me with slightly concerned looks, though their boredom was hiding most of their looks up if anyone who didn't really know them saw them.

Absently, my eyes shifted to stare back into the brown contents in my cup.

Yami, sensing my discomfort, cleared his throat and directed the conversation away. "So, what did you guys do yesterday?"

Joey was the one who answered with playing video games with Mokuba. Those two, plus the other two yami's started up a conversation that left us hikari's out.

Using a voice soft enough for me to hear but the others not, Malik scooted his chair closer to Ryou's and leaned forward on the table to talk to me. "Are you sure you're alright Yugi?" He gently asked, his lavender colored eyes watching me.

I kept my eyes on my cup and nodded my head. "I'm good…" I repeated my answer from earlier.

"Yugi," Ryou was the one to talk, "Whatever happened between us through those months, please understand that we never meant anything by it." His voice got softer, if that was even possible by how soft his voice was already, "I don't even remember anything that happened…"

I finally glanced up and examined the other two. Both of their faces were twisted with an emotional guilt and pain. I knew from Yami that no one remembered what had happened so the thoughts of not knowing what they had done were eating at them.

"Everything that happened is in the past now, guys," I told them. "I just need a little time to get used to everything again. I promise you though, I'm not holding this all against you. Please believe me on that." And without realizing that my words were true, something in my stomach that felt like it was being twisted painfully finally let up. The hurt was melting again, leaving only an aching pain.

"How will everything go back to normal though?" Malik asked.

Shrugging my shoulders, I turned my head to my right to gaze out the window where everything was painted white. "With time. That's the best answer I can give you."

From the corner of my eye, Malik and Ryou turned to one another. They didn't say anything but a look passed between them. A look that meant they were okay with that.

Under the table, I felt a hand brush against my thigh. Without jumping or being startled, one of my own hands disappeared from the table top and slipped into the hand. I squeezed Yami's hand, knowing that he had heard our conversation. My words were true, that it was going to take time for things to settle back down. That was the only best medicine. And telling Ryou and Malik that and seeing them not get annoyed, I could tell they were okay with it too. Like Yami, they were willing to wait.

I turned my head away from the winter wonderland outside to the people at the table. My eyes came into contact with a familiar honey colored ones. We locked eyes. And for a moment, understanding passed between Joey's eyes, the same look that passed between Ryou and Malik just a minute before. Joey was willing to wait too. And having his and the other two hikari's understanding, I knew I had everyone else's too.

XxxxX

"So where are we going now?" Joey asked a few hours later. We had been at the café since twelve and it was now three. The café had started to get a little too crowded for my taste and Yami immediately noticed so we left. As of now, we were casually walking around town wondering what to do.

I buried my hands deeper into my jacket pockets, slightly shivering from the cold. I had on the heaviest jacket I owned yet I was still shaking. Lovely. From the corner of my eye, I saw Yami smile and slipped an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him as we walked. I didn't pull away, especially when the warmth seemed to seep through his clothes the instant we touched. If anything, I wiggled closer to him, causing him to slightly stumbled.

"Easy there, aibou," He whispered into my ear.

I frowned, hiding a smile that wanted to be known. "It's too cold." I mumbled, slightly pouting. I leaned against him more, feeling a little warmer.

"Anywhere that is warm, I vote there." Malik answered Joey's question. Like me, he was as close to his yami as he could possibly get. Both of his arms were wrapped around Marik's waist for dear life and his head was perched on top of his boyfriends shoulder, making the picture look cute. If it weren't for Marik's cheesy expression. The yami held his hikari close and shot a gloating look over at Bakura.

Bakura, who was just holding hands with his lover, narrowed his eyes and gave his partner-in-crime a deathly glare.

Ryou sent an amused smile over to his fellow hikari. "For one who has never seen snow before, you sure don't like it."

Malik stuck his tongue out at the British teen and grumpily stated, "I was born and raised in Egypt. Of course I won't like snow, it's _way _too cold for my taste."

I softly smiled to myself before look over to Joey who was in the lead. We turned a corner of the practically deserted street onto a familiar one. "We could always just go back to the game shop." I suggested.

Joey turned to look at me, trying to hide his surprise. "Are you sure?"

Yami looked down at me, also surprised by the statement.

I just nodded my head, "Yeah. Unless you prefer to go somewhere else?" I knew what I was doing. I shouldn't be taking on too much, since technically this was my first day of recuperating with other people, but, I didn't want this day to end just yet.

Malik jumped into our conversation, his teeth beginning to chatter, "I vote for whatever is closest!"

"Of course you do," Ryou playfully rolled his eyes. That received him another glare, but he just ignored it.

Yami, still watching me, asked me, "Are you sure? Don't you want to take a little at a time?" Concern was laced in with his words and I knew he didn't want me to overdo it.

"Yes, I want to do this." I looked up at him, my eyes showing determination.

After a minute of searching my eyes, he nodded his head. "Alright. The Game shop it is." He squeezed me closer and I gladly accepted. The cold wasn't as bad now that I was against something really warm, but my face was becoming numb.

As we continued down the street, I glanced around, enjoying the whiteness everywhere. The town didn't look as dirty with the pure snow layering everything. It looked nice. The sidewalks, thank the gods, were cleared of the snow and had a layer of sand on it to keep people who were out and about from falling. The streets were also cleared and with sand for people to drive, but there were hardly anyone driving around.

Most of the buildings were closed on this street and at the very end of it was the game shop.

The closer we walked to the shop, the more a weird feeling crept up on me. The feeling was made up of nerves and a little fear. I didn't understand the feeling so I took my left hand out of my warm pocket and searched for Yami's. When I found it, I grabbed it and squeezed tight, refusing to let it go.

"Are you alright?" Yami asked, noticing the movement. He squeezed back and glanced down at me.

I surveyed the street we were on, wondering why I was feeling bad. "I-I don't know…" I whispered. It was until we were a couple of feet away from the entrance did I realize why I was afraid of this street. I immediately stopped walking, my eyes trained on the alleyway.

Yami stopped as soon as he realized that I did and kept his eyes on my face. "Yugi?"

"Why are we stopping for?" Ryou asked, stopping right behind us. He curiously tilted his head.

Joey paused when he heard Ryou speak and turned around. He took one look at my face, saw my skin drain of all color and my eyes wide with fear, and knew something was wrong. He retraced a few steps back and stopped right next to Yami. "What's wrong, Yuge?"

My heart seemed to pound against my chest and I blinked a couple of times. Ignoring the blonde, I managed to stumble out, "W-we should t-take a d-different route b-back home." I nervously tore my eyes away from the alleyway and looked to Yami desperately.

Bakura scoffed, "Why? The game shop is in plain sight right there." He rolled his eyes.

Ryou frowned at his yami and took his hand back. He walked around me so he could face me. Catching sight of my face, he grew concerned too. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head, not answering the albino. I just watched my darker half, waiting for his answer. Every now and then, my eyes would flicker back over to the alley, feeling like someone was about to jump out at any given moment.

When my eyes weren't on his, Yami turned his head, following my gaze. Realizing what I was looking at, his face turned stone hard. His eyes narrowed and the hand around mine squeezed tight and remained squeezing.

"Yes, let's take a different route." He finally said. Confused expressions were all turned on him and I let out a sigh of relief. But before anyone could say anything let alone turn around to retrace our steps to find a different way to get back home, a voice, followed by the sound of snow crunching stopped us.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the runt and his bodyguards."

The voice caused me to go stiff and my eyes fluttered to the alleyway. A whimper came from my throat and without realizing what I was doing, I subconsciously took a step away and slightly hid behind Yami. I clutched his arm like a little kid meeting their parent's friends for the first time.

Everyone turned to find Ushio and a few of his gang members walk out of the alley. Only Ushio was smiling, the others had looks of annoyance upon their faces, looks that said they didn't want to be outside in the cold. There was about four of his gang behind him and they walked up to us until there was a foot or two of space between us.

Joey puffed up at the nickname Ushio used, knowing fully well who it was intended for. "What do you want?" He asked with venom. He glared daggers at them.

From the corner of my eyes, I noticed that both Marik and Bakura pushed their lovers behind them, as if they could shield them away from the bully.

Ushio chuckled lightly, "Nothing really," he said. He eyed the blonde before his eyes sought me out. Our eyes were maybe in contact for three seconds before Yami shifted, disconnecting our gaze. But the bully didn't seem disturbed as he simply said, "Just saw y'all walking around and wanted to say hi." He smiled, his perfect white teeth showing.

"Hi my ass," Marik muttered under his breath. Both he and Bakura had a hatred for this guy. After hearing that he picked on their hikari's, their hatred grew and whenever they were able to, they'd beat the crap out of him. (1)

Bakura growled in agreement.

Yami, being cool and collected, glared at the bully and told him, "If you'll excuse us, we need to get going." The arm I was clutching moved and was about to gently nudge me to start walking the other way when Ushio stopped us.

"The rest of you can go, but I was wanting to talk to my Yugi."

The way he said my name sent goose bumps along my arms, but shivers up and down my spine from the word my. I felt sick to my stomach and didn't move. I felt Yami stiffen, noticing he was having the same reaction I was.

But instead of him saying anything, Malik spoke up first, "_Your _Yugi? Since when has he ever become yours?" He demanded, sounding pissed. If it wasn't for Marik holding him back, the Egyptian would have smacked the bully.

Ushio grinned, unaffected by his words. In a calm voice, he simply said, "Since you guys left him alone and didn't pay him any attention." His grin widened an inch when he saw a look of hurt pass through the hikari's eyes. He continued, "While you guys were off in your own little world, Yugi and I, we got more acquainted. Didn't we, honey?" His eyes flickered over to me and I felt my heart stop. My grip on Yami tightened even more. "In a way, you could say he belongs to me now."

Joey glared at the man, "Yugi belongs to now one, you hear?" His voice dripped with venom. Then, because this was Joey we were talking about, he added, "Besides, the only way he could ever belong to someone was if that someone had their name written on him."

It took me a second to realize what the blonde just said and I turned to him with a look of horror on my face. But I didn't have any time to say anything. Everything happened so fast I barely had time to comprehend everything. One minute, I was hiding behind Yami with Ushio a few feet away, the next Ushio grabbed my arm and yanked me free of my darker half. I yelped in surprise and pain from the force and tried to escape the grasp of the bully, but he held me too tight. One arm was around my neck, the other was on my stomach, lifting my jacket and shirt up for the world to see.

"You see? He belongs to me," Ushio's gloating voice was loud in my ears. His hot breath hit the side of my face and I continued to jerk to free myself.

Gasps of surprise and anger were heard. I knew all of their eyes were on the scar on my lower stomach where the TU was carved. Thankfully, all of my bruises had healed a while ago so you couldn't see any.

The cold stung my exposed skin and tears of anger and fear filled my eyes. I had to squeeze them shut to block out all of the memories that flooded my brain the night I was raped.

"Let him go," Yami growled. I opened my eyes just a fraction to see Yami's fist curled at his side as he was trying to control his anger. With me in Ushio's grasps where anything could happen, he wasn't willing to risk anything. But how things were going, I could tell he was close to.

"Or what?" Ushio asked. From the corner of my eye, Ushio's face moved closer to mine. And then I felt his surprising warm lips against my cheek. He was _kissing_ me!

A silent tear slid down my face and a lump formed in my throat. My eyes stayed on Yami's face, wondering what he was going to do. I couldn't move. Every time I tried to, the grip Ushio had on me tightened.

"You release him now or there will be hell to pay," Yami said.

The bully smirked but something about his hold on me slackened. He was hesitating. Before I could give it much thought, he let my shirt and jacket fall back down. Slowly, he lowered me to the ground (I never noticed that my feet were dangling in the air) and after making sure my feet were stabled, he moved as fast as snails moved, he took his arm back.

I didn't need to be told twice. As soon as I felt his arm leave my neck, I sprinted away from him. I ran to Yami who had an arm out waiting for me. I hugged him, feeling safe in his embrace but the hold didn't last as long as I wanted it too. Quickly but in a swift manner, he shifted me so that I was behind him. Ryou and Malik were there, grabbing ahold of me and trying to shield me from the eyes of Ushio.

"Leave him alone," growled Yami. "If I see you around him again, _touching _him, then prepared to never see the light of day again."

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" The bully sneered but he did take a step back.

"It's a promise." Marik smirked back. He pulled a foot long knife out of his jacket and twirled it in the air like it was a pencil and not some dangerous tool. His threat seemed to work because a few of the gang members took a step back. Or maybe it was from the crazed look in the yami's eyes.

I clung to Ryou and kept my eyes closed, not wanting to see the man look at me one last time before he turned around and flickered his hand for his gang members to retreat back into the alleyway. I buried my head in the albino's shoulder, trying to stop the shaking that crept on up me the moment Ushio appeared.

The sound of retreating foot falls crunching the snow under foot receded until it was no more. Even after, it was another minute before anything happened. And when it did, I felt myself being passed from one shoulder to a different, more familiar one. And this person was gentle as he held me.

"Let's get to the shop," Yami suggested his voice close to my ear.

XxxxX

The whole way to the game shop was quiet. No one spoke, not even Malik complaining about the cold. It wasn't until we entered the house and we were all located in the living room did someone finally spoke.

"What the hell was that?" Joey asked, the question directed at me.

I sat down in the middle of the couch, pulling my legs up with me (my and everyone's shoes were already off and by the door, along with jackets) and resting my chin on my knees. My arms snaked around my legs and I hugged them tight. Yami sat down next to me on the edge of the couch, a hand on my knee for comfort.

"Like Ushio said," I told them softly but just loud enough for everyone to hear, "You guys left me and didn't pay me any attention… Every bully at our school and even some from the others sought me out and the beatings began."

"But what about the… scar?" Ryou managed to asked, his voice filled with worry.

I shook my head and hid my face. To explain the scar, I would have to explain the whole night of that day. And that was something I did _not _want to do.

"It seems like there was more going on than we thought," Malik mumbled and sat down on the edge of the recliner, leaning forward and crossing his hands before him.

Marik was right next to him and laid a hand on his shoulder for comfort. "And things we need to catch up on," He gave Bakura a wicked smile.

For once, I didn't say anything to his comment about hurting people. Was it because I was in shock and was hurting too much or became I thought all of those bullies deserved it, I don't know. I just didn't say anything.

Yami pulled me to him. I laid my head on his chest and sighed, my eyes filling with tears. In slow circles, Yami rubbed my back and leaned down to whisper in my ear, "Everything always happens to you… why?" He didn't ask me anything about Ushio or the bullies. He didn't say anything about killing anybody. All he asked was why me? The regret in his voice made me wonder why it always happened to me too. What do I do to deserve all of this?

**XxxxX Until next time! **

**1] I'm just making that up… In my mind, since Malik and Ryou are hikari's, they were picked on at some time in their life. I'm not going in to details about it because it's irrelevant right now. But just know that they were picked on by Ushio. :P **

**Replies:**

**Ak- I can't tell you what's going on silly, that would ruin the whole plot! :D But don't worry, the truth will be out soon… er or later. And as for Ushio, don't worry, it'll be painful. I just have to think of what I wanna do to him. Thanks for reading! **


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**Chapter Fifteen**

Winter break was now over. Three weeks of no school, no tests and all the sleep you could ever ask for, was over. School was back in session as of this morning.

I pushed my arms through my uniform sleeves and adjusted it to make sure it fitted right. It was already seven twenty-one am and I was already showered and dressed. Now it was time to see if my other half, my lover was done getting ready. Giving myself one last look-over in the mirror, my shirt cleaned and jacket buttoned up, my pants not looking ragged, I nodded to myself. Through the last couple of weeks, my appearance had gotten better. I gained the necessary weight back I had lost from not eating and I no longer looked like a ghost. My coloring came back along with my hair becoming healthy. I ate normal portioned breakfast, lunch, and dinner because if I didn't, Yami would call Joey to come over and sit on me. For some reason, it usually worked. For some reason, being sat on by the blonde was pure torture only a best friend could give.

My relationship with the gang was slowly patched up and at times, it felt like nothing had ever happened. We went back to hanging out and enjoying one another's company. For the rest of the winter break, we became inseparable once again. Was it because they wanted to catch up on missed things or because they didn't want me to be by myself, I didn't know. Or maybe it was both. Whichever it was, I was okay with. At times, I did feel smothered so Yami took it as a chance for me to escape and just be able to relax somewhere where I could be alone. There were still times I could only take so much.

Now, it had gotten better.

There was a soft knock at my bedroom door, causing my thoughts to shift, and the door opened. "Are you ready to go?" Yami casually asked. He leaned against the door frame, dressed in his schools uniform and looking ready.

I took my gaze off of my mirror and nodded at him with a smile. "Yup." Grabbing my backpack that was sitting at my feet, I swung it onto one shoulder and walked over to my dark. When I stopped in front of him, he bent down and planted a kiss on my forehead. I just smiled shyly at him and we both headed out of my room and down the stairs.

One thing was for certain. When it came to cuddling with Yami, I was okay with. Kissing I was still a bit hesitant about, especially the lips. I was getting better with it, but it was taking longer than everything else. Yami was patient with me and didn't complain. Like before, he was willing to wait. Without him and his patience, I didn't know where I would be.

After grabbing a quick breakfast of either cereal or toast, the two of us pulled on our jackets and shoes and left the house. The air outside was still cold but the snow wasn't as piled high or as much anymore. It was now in January and the snow would be here for another month and if we're lucky, two months. Oh joy.

I buried my hands deep into my jacket's pocket and walked close enough to my dark to where we were brushing sleeves. I shivered as the wind blew hard, enough to make me stumble back a little. Luckily, I caught balance before Yami even noticed and brushed it aside.

Glancing over at Yami, I realized he was shaking. He had a calm expression about his face and he looked around, enjoying the morning air. I pouted, wishing I could enjoy the beginning of the day instead of shivering.

Out of the corner of his eye, Yami noticed my stare. He turned his head and grinned at me. "Cold?" He simply asked.

I stuck my tongue out at him and bumped his arm with my shoulder. A simple movement a child would do but one that would work for teens too. I turned my gaze back forward just as an arm slipped around my shoulders, pulling me closer.

"You know," Yami said, talking softly into my ear as we continued to walk, "If you just wanted to walk even closer, all you had to do was ask." He gently pecked my cheek and moved his head back.

Giggling, I remained silent and snuggled closer to him, glad that my boyfriend radiated off so much warmth.

We walked in a comfortable silence for a few blocks. Normally, about now we would meet up with Duke, Tristan and Tea, but all three of them had texted the night before and said they were going to school a little late. Joey always got a ride with Kaiba in the mornings so he never met up with us until we were all in or at least at school. And as for the other two hikari's and yami's, they were waiting right where we always meet up.

"Good morning Yugi, Yami." Ryou cheerfully addressed each of us with a bright smile. I grinned back to him and before I could greet him back with words, Malik cut in.

Malik's greeting caused us both to roll our eyes, "'Bout time you two got here! I was freezing my ass off waiting!" he was standing close to Ryou, his arms crossed and hands at his armpits to keep them warm and he was bouncing to keep moving.

Marik's head popped up from where he and Bakura were being childish; poking an ant pile, aggravating the ants. His deep voice came out in a pout, almost like a whine, "And I didn't know about this? You ass could have been -,"

"Aah!" Ryou covered his ears with his glove-covered hands and slightly glared at the dark. "I don't want to listen to that." He said. "Way too early for that." He shivered, either from the cold or imagining what was about to be said, no one would ever know.

Yami rolled his eyes, "Come on, let's get to school now."

Together, the six of us headed to the school. Normal chatter about what to do after school filled Malik and Ryou and their yami's were talking in hushed voices a couple of paces behind us. Suspicious on so many levels. Yami was quiet as was I. There just wasn't anything to talk about.

Within a couple of minutes, we reached the school grounds. Kids were everywhere, hurrying into the school for the warmth while some brave kids remained outside, their faces red from the cold. Our group was heading for the door when a familiar voice called out to me.

"Yugi! Wait up!"

I tensed, as did Yami, but I never looked back. Instead, I quickened my pace. The other four looked over their shoulder and glared at Danny who was running to come and speak with me. This wasn't the first time either. During the holiday, Danny would try to confront me and explain his actions about that day in the park so many days (weeks?) ago. But I never let him. He hurt me, just like how everyone else had hurt me. I had trusted him and he only returned the favor by lying to me. I never gave him the chance to explain. I always walked away or Yami or someone else would stop him from trying to come after me. He tried many times to talk; calling/texting me, e-mailing me, Skyping me, and even face-to-face contact. But none of it worked. So it was no surprise he thought he could try again now that we were at school.

"Yugi! Please!" The desperation in his voice had me slow my fast pace down a smudge. I was never good at staying mad at people, I always felt guilty. But, the thought of being lied to flashed through my mind and the hesitation was gone.

"C'mon," I mumbled to my friends before grabbing Yami's arm and proceeding into the school. Not knowing why, I glanced over my shoulder and wished I didn't. Danny was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, his eyes on me. His face was red from the cold and he was breathing hard. His expression was helpless and lost and sad.

Quickly, I turned my head away, trying to forget the image.

XxxxX

"I don't understand why the kid won't leave us the hell alone," Bakura muttered, annoyance clearly shown in his voice as we walked down the hall.

Ryou rolled his eyes, "You mean why he won't leave Yugi alone." He softly said to his dark. "I highly doubt he cares about any of the rest of us."

Malik, who was busy taking his gloves and scarf off, added, "You gotta give him some credit though. He is trying." He stuffed his extra clothing into his bag and out of plain sight.

"Guys," Yami's warning tone was enough to shut the three up. All of their eyes immediately sought out my face and they slightly flinched. My face was conflicted of different emotions, but annoyance the clearest one. I wasn't paying any attention to who was saying what, but with them talking about me and Danny, my grief and anger and pain was coming back. Then the frustration of the former (kind of) bully not leaving me alone.

I blinked, realizing that it got quiet. I turned my head to the others and noticed the two hikari's had sheepish expressions upon their faces. The annoyance disappeared from my face, instead a soft smile replacing it.

"It's alright, guys." I told them. Really, I wasn't mad at them. It was more of the thought that Danny was the one they were talking about. They had good intentions but sometimes I just wish they could drop the subject.

Before any of them could respond, a familiar voice above all of the chatter in the school called out my name.

"Yuge!"

Up ahead, Joey was already in our homeroom classroom. He was standing at the doorway, looking bored until he spotted us. A big grin was plastered upon his face.

A grin appeared on my face and within a few seconds, our group made it to the room. Before I had time to dodge, the blonde slung an arm around my shoulders and pulled me away from Yami. A small squeak was animated from my mouth and a small grunt from Yami's, but Joey ignored both as he managed to guide me over to where Kaiba was busy typing on his laptop. The blonde sat down in the seat right behind his boyfriend and looked to me and pointed to the seat next to his.

Hesitation was back for the first time in the last two-ish weeks. I bit my bottom lip and turned my head to look across the room to where my old seat was. Abandoned by the window, my seat looked far away from where I was standing. All alone, in denial, isolated from all of his friends. I changed my sight back to the seat Joey was patiently pointing to and sat down, relieved I didn't have to be alone anymore.

No one seemed to notice my hesitation, if they did, they ignored it and didn't question it.

Before I even placed my bag onto the floor, Joey launched onto the topic of homework.

"I really want to know what our project is going to be about!" He said with a hint of excitement in his voice.

Yami, who was sitting in the seat in front of me, turned around and frowned at the blonde. "Any why exactly are you excited about the project?"

"Yes, you always complain about homework and projects." Ryou added as he came and took a seat behind me. Malik took the seat behind Joey and his yami behind him with Bakura sitting next to him.

Joey rolled his eyes and stated, "Yeah, I know. But this project we're havin' partners!" He continued to talk about it when I zoned out, taking my journal and pencil out of my bag. I had forgotten all about the project. But now thinking about it, I wonder who my partner will be. Ms. Maki had already decided before winter break began and by the way she kept talking to me about Yami, I kind of figured who my partner would be.

At that moment, I glanced up and found Yami watching me with curious eyes. I grinned back at him. And that's when I noticed a certain someone walk into the classroom. My classroom. A room he shouldn't even be in. The smile quickly faded from my face and my eyes widened just a fraction. My breath caught in my throat and I stared as the certain someone noticed me and smirked. He even winked at me.

Yami noticed my sudden change of mood and whipped his head around to see just who walked in. A soft, deep growl was barely heard but it was enough for the others to stop talking and changed their attention to the newcomer.

Ushio casually sauntered over to where we were sitting, never taking his eyes off of mine. The closer he came, the more I wanted to back away. But I couldn't because of the chair I was sitting in. No matter how much time passed by, I continued to be scared of the bully a few feet away from me. Because of his actions, he left me scarred, mentally and physically. Being scared was the only reaction that I gathered from him.

"What the hell do you want?" Joey growled when Ushio stopped a desk away from Yami's. The blonde slowly rose to his feet but before he could move anywhere, Kaiba stopped typing and grabbed his wrist so nothing major could happen.

Ushio flickered his eyes over to Joey and shrugged his shoulders in a slow motion. "Just wanted to say hi."

"Why are you in this class room?" Yami asked, he too, rising to his feet.

A grin appeared on his face and he looked towards me again. "I was switched out of the other Language Arts class to this one." He answered. "I wasn't able to learn with those noisy people."

Under his breath, Bakura mumbled, "Or more like the people around you couldn't learn with you in there."

Ushio heard the remark but choose to ignore it. Instead, he directly asked me, "So, is this seat taken?" He pointed to the empty seat right next to mine.

Not for one second, did I take my eyes off of his. And for a minute, it felt as though my heart nearly stopped beating. No sound came out of my slightly opened mouth. Sweat seemed to trickle down the back of my neck from his cool stare.

Yami stepped in between his path, clearly blocking my view from him. And right when Ushio was blocked, I was able to look away, trying to catch my breath and be able to breathe. My dark's voice came out low and clear, and for a moment, I felt safe, that Ushio couldn't touch me.

"Get the hell away from us. These desks are already saved, as they are assigned seats." His eyes pierced Ushio's in a threatening way. The two were so close to one another that there was only about two inches of space between them.

Joey also stared at Ushio and added, "There is a seat all the way over there that is unassigned." He pointed to my old seat with a smirk.

Joey's comment went unheard as Ushio looked down at Yami, their gazes clashing against one another. You could almost feel the tension between them. Neither one of them were willing to glance away, knowing that the first person who did was crowned the lower of the two. Nothing was able to get them to look away, nothing. Not even –

"Ah, I see you two have already met one another," A cheerful voice interrupted the two. At the same time, both teenagers glanced away, over to where Ms. Maki was standing about a foot away from Ushio's back. With all of our eyes on hers, we noticed her smile was forced, like she was already sensing there was a fight about to break out.

Answering her comment, Malik nodded his head and gruffly said, "Yeah, we know each other."

Ms. Maki nodded her head. "That's great to hear." Her eyes wondered until she found me. And for a moment, her eyes seemed to brighten, taking in that I was sitting among my friends again. Her forced smile changed into a soft grin and she looked to her new student. "Well, Mr. Tetsu Ushio, these seats are already taken by other students. Though I do believe that the seat over there," she pointed to where Joey had been pointing to just a couple of minutes ago, "is empty. Why don't you go get situated over there?"

Ushio glared at the teacher but knew he had to leave. He looked back to me and gave a smirk, "See you soon, Yugi." He said. "Sooner than you'd like." Something about the way he spoke carried a sense of victory in his words. I couldn't help but shiver.

When the bully pushed –and I do mean push- by the teacher, Ms. Maki slightly frowned at his rudness but shook her head and looked back at me. "Mr. Mutou, may I see you at my desk please?"

"Why?" Joey asked, frowning as his boyfriend released his wrist and went back to typing. The anger presented from the blonde was long gone, looking like it had never been there in the first place.

Ms. Maki returned Joey's frown and said, "Mr. Wheeler, I do believe it's none of your business, am I right?" There was a tone of amusement in her voice to show she was just playing with him. She turned around, knowing that I was going to follow her, and walked over to her desk.

Cautiously, I sat up from my desk. I had a clue to what she wanted and I wasn't really looking forward to talking with her. But, might as well get this done.

"It's alright," I told Joey who was still frowning, "I kind of already know what she wants to talk about." Joey nodded to me, seeming a bit calmer. I looked in front of me where Yami was still standing in the middle of the aisle. He continued to glare at Ushio who was getting situated with his own seat. Knowing what to do, I slipped my arms around my yami and squeezed him from the back. "We're at school, Yami. He can't do anything."

"But that doesn't mean he can't try." Was the reply I received. Yami laid his hands on top of mine and squeezed them back before I took back my arms. He sat down so that I could walk to the front.

Once I was at the teacher's desk, I watched the young woman rearranging some papers into an organized pile. "You wished to talk to me?" I said, waiting for her to respond.

Ms. Maki glanced up from her work and laid it down to rest, giving me her full attention. "Hello, Yugi." She gently said with a smile. "How was your break?"

"It was good," I answered her back, feeling a little tense. "How was yours?"

She waved the question off and shrugged, "Fine I guess. My relatives were noisy and yaddah yaddah yaddah." She looked me straight in the eyes. Here comes the famous question… "It looks as though you and Yami made up. As well as everyone else?" Her eyes flickered to the group, talking calmly about something before her eyes found mine again.

I swallowed and nodded my head. "Yes… It took a little time, but everything's back as it should be."

"And… you two are together, again?"

Once again I nodded my head. This time, I let a small smile reach my face. "Yes, we are."

There was a sigh of relief of Ms. Maki's part and she closed her eyes. "That's a relief."

I frowned, but there was a hint of amusement on my face. "And why is that?" I asked, feeling a little at ease and not as tense as before. Why I had been tensing was kind of a wonder to even myself.

She opened her eyes and cheerfully smiled, "Seeing you two a part, it was hard to watch, even for an old lady like me. Now that you are back together, it's just nice. Throughout the break, I caught myself wondering if things were going okay with you two. And thinking back on it now, I can see it has." I tilted my head, sort of confused by what she was saying. So she took the liberty of explaining, "Before the break, you didn't look… what's the word," she paused as she thought about what she wanted to say. After a minute, she continued, "You didn't look healthy. Your appearance, it didn't look as though you were eating right. But now, you look better. I can see Yami has been taking great care of you."

For some reason, I felt a faint blush appear on my cheeks. I didn't know what to say.

Ms. Maki smiled at my speechlessness and told me, "Go take a seat, Yugi. Class is about to begin."

I only nodded my head and turned around to return to my seat. When I sat down, I noticed that Tristan, Duke and Tea were all here. Their faces were still red from the outside chill and they were chattering. They just got here.

"So, what did she want?" Malik asked as soon as I sat down and greeted the three that just arrived.

I shrugged my shoulders, "Just wanted to see how everything was going." Before they could ask, my eyes sought out Yami who was busy talking with Duke about DDD. Giving them the answer, I looked away just as the bell rung, indicating class was now in session.

A minute after the bell rung and everyone was situated in their seats, Ms. Maki was up with a bright smile on her face. "Good morning class! I hope everyone had a great break and ready for the second semester!" There was a chorus of non-excited cheers from all of the students. But she ignored it, just like she ignored it every day and continued on with her lecture. "Well, now that we're back from break, I finally get to announce the details of the project!"

Many groans met her words. More than half of the students forgot about the project and weren't particularly ready for it.

"Now now," The teacher frowned and placed her hands on her hips. "I did warn you that there was going to be a project after the break."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we want to do it," Tristan groaned and placed his chin on his desk. Duke reached forward and gave his boyfriend a pat on the back.

A girl in the front row, who looked a little interested in the project asked, "So, what exactly is the project about?"

Ms. Maki grinned at the student. "Thank you for asking, Kihathy." Addressing her whole class, she explained, "The project is a book project. You'll be having a partner so the work can get done twice as fast. Once you have your partner, you both will decide what famous author you want to research on and write a biography. And you both will be required to read one of their books." She grinned. "And since this is such an easy project, you will have until Friday to get it done."

A lot of protesting came from the students about the time, but the teacher just ignored it all. Her students knew that when she gave projects out, she didn't like them to dwell too much on it so she didn't give them a lot of time.

"Can it be any famous author?" Ryou politely raised his hand and asked.

The teacher nodded her head, "Any famous author in the world."

"Who's our partners?" Someone in the back asked, his voice sounding a bit nervous.

A smile appeared of the teachers face as she walked back over to her desk and picked up her clipboard with papers on it. She flips the first paper back and starts to read names off of it who is paired with who. When she got to our group, she read out, "Tristan, you and Mr. Wheeler will be partners." She said and glanced up at the two, knowing very well that is either of them was paired up with anyone else, not much work would get done. There was a 'boo-ya' coming from one of them and a high five. She rolled her eyes and went back to reading names off, "Duke, you and Tea. Ryou, you and Marik are partners. Marik and Bakura, you two are partners like always." Everyone in the whole school, even the teachers who didn't have the honor of having the two trouble makers in their class knew that they never did their homework. They always got some other kid to do it. There wasn't much the teachers could do (since most of them were afraid) so they let it slide and sought out the poor unfortunate souls and give them extra bonus points.

Bakura and Marik look at each other with grins.

I waited patiently for the teacher to call out my name. All that was left from our group besides myself was Yami and Kaiba. Wonder who Kaiba was being paired up with…

"Kaiba," Ms. Maki broke my train of thoughts by calling his name. "Since you're one of the smartest people in the class, I decided to pair you up with Yami, knowing that there will be an equal amount of work getting done between you two."

Suddenly, I felt many pairs of eyes on the back and side of my head. Yami had even turned around in his seat, surprised that we didn't get partnered up. If I didn't get partnered up with Yami, then who was my partner?

I watched the teacher call out a few more names before mine was finally called. "Yugi, I had a request for your partnership." She said, glancing up and giving me a smile, like she was excited for me. I didn't know if it was just my imagination or if it was real, but the room suddenly felt like it dropped a few degrees. My breath got in my throat when she announced my partner. "You and Ushio are partners for this assignment."

**XxxxX Until next time!**

**Dontcha just love cliff hangers? ^^**

**Lisa: Bet y'all didn't see that coming.**

**Well, see y'all soon!**

**Replies:**

**Guest: I hope I didn't leave you in suspense for too long. ^^ I'm glad you like it so far. Thanks for reading! **


	16. Chapter 16

**Replies:**

**Ak- I know, the cliffy always has to interrupt the best part. But it's always a great way to end a chapter! And I can't promise the bullies not hurting Yugi. I still have a lot of ideas. :/ But it won't be **_**as **_**bad….. kind of. Yugi really doesn't deserve any of it, I understand. But don't worry. Yami will be there for him! Thanks for reading!**

**Guest- I'm glad the teacher looks trusting! :D but, she won't be much help, sadly. :/ Thanks for reading! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**Chapter Sixteen**

The room was quiet for maybe a minute. Or was it a second? Whichever one it was, there was a sudden uproar. I sat frozen to my chair, hands balled into fists in my lap and eyes glued on my desk. My eyes were double its normal size and my head pounded against my school. I didn't join in the argument my friends were suddenly engaged in with the teacher.

"You can't partner them up!" Joey was on his feet in an instant, eyes wide in disbelief at the teacher.

Tristan was on his feet too, backing his friend up. "Yeah! When you put them together as partners, it's like teaming a snake and… and a mouse together! It won't do and it's wrong!"

Ms. Maki, a little annoyed by the outburst, patiently listened to them before saying, "As much as I like your metaphor, Mr. Taylor, I'm afraid I have already paired them up. And as my rule from the beginning of the year states, I cannot change partners once they're decided. They're stuck together until the project ends."

"But-!" Malik tried to join in but a certain someone's snort stopped him.

All eyes turned to the back of the room where Ushio was rolling his eyes. "Just suck it up, losers." Like when he had first walked into the classroom, his voice was full of victory, like he had won.

Ms. Maki turned an upraised eyebrow towards the bully but didn't comment on his chosen sentence. Instead, she looked back to my friends and said, "Will you three please sit down? I would like to continue class."

There was hesitation in all three of them. That caused me to glance up and I managed to swallow the lump in my throat and quietly tell them, "Please sit…" Tristan and Malik sat down grumbling while Joey remained standing, watching me with those honey colored eyes of his. There was concern and anger. But the more I stared at him, the less hesitation there was and within a minute, Joey huffed and broke eye contact. He sat down, leaning back and crossing his arms against his chest.

The teacher nodded in satisfaction once all of her students were seated. Her eyes lit up when she remembered something. "Oh right! One more thing about the project before we begin on the assignment today. Once you read which ever book you decided on, you'll need to write a three page essay on what the book was about and what you liked and what you didn't." There were groans in which she completely ignored. "And one more thing; you and your partner don't exactly have to choose the same book.

"And on that happy note, let's begin class!"

As the class began to continue along, the teacher up at the board giving a lecture that we were required to take notes, I couldn't help but feel a ball of panic well up in the pit of my stomach. All of my thoughts led to Ushio and having to suffer being his partner for the next week. Who knew what he would do to me? And apparently _he _was the one to suggest us being partners. But, how did he manage that when he wasn't even in our class last semester?

My hands tightened in my lap and I didn't notice them turning white. I stared at my blank page in front of me. How was this partnership going to work? Besides not wanting to be near him, Yami and the others were going to make sure that never happened. They were—

Disrupting my thoughts was a gentle poke on my backside. I blink and barely turned my head when a folded note appeared on desk. Ryou had thrown it over my shoulder but had to first get my attention. Ignoring everything else, I uncurled my fists and unfolded the note. Scribbled inside was Ryou's handwriting.

_Are you okay? Don't worry about Ushio, we'll make sure you and him are no longer partners. –R_

Showing no emotions, I picked my pencil up and wrote back:

I'm fine, I think. I appreciate the offer, but no matter what, Ms. Maki won't let us switch partners. There's nothing any of us can do… -Y

I folded the paper back up and without turning around, I moved my arm to toss it onto his desk without making a big movement. I resumed my posture from before but this time, I started to doodle on my paper, drawing random circles and objects with no meaning. It was nice that everyone (even though it was just Ryou who wrote the note, I assumed everyone was in on it) was willing to help me change partners, but no matter how much you begged the teacher, she wouldn't allow it. Not without some valid reason. And the reason I didn't want to be with him, I didn't want to make that public.

I lowered my head some. I could feel some eyes on the back of my head, but I didn't do anything. I could tell my friends wanted to help, but to be honest, what could they do? I was just going to have to suffer through this project. At least I had Yami by my side now.

A minute later, the note was back on my desk. I opened it up and read:

Don't worry, we'll be here for you. –R

There was more writing and they were each from someone else. So this note was passed around. It was a surprise the teacher didn't notice, who had sharp eyes of every movement.

Ushio won't even be able to lay a hand on you. –M

Yeah, cuz if he does, he'll get his ass kicked. You can count on that Yuge. –J

We'll be here for you, Yugi. You two may still be partners, but that doesn't mean you have to be near him. During the project, all of us will be with you. –Tea

After reading from the different people, I felt a little better. A little amused that the note was passed around and a little touched that they didn't want to wait until class ended to tell me. When I glanced up from the note, I looked around to all of my friends. Their eyes were on me, each of them holding some kind of encouraging smile. I gave a small smile in return before turning back around with a soft sigh of relaxation. They were all here for me.

When I did turn back, there was another note on my desk. This one was smaller and only folded once. Curiously, I opened it back up and read the handwriting there,

He won't touch you, aibou. I'll make sure of it. You won't be going anywhere with him. Best thing about this project, you'll barely have to see him. You'll be with him only for doing the research and that's about it. I'll be there with you every step. –Y

Reading his note, I felt even better. With it in writing wasn't the same as hearing it from him, but it still made me feel better.

XxxxX

The bell rung, indicating class was over. I gathered my supplies and stuffed it into my bag. I barely took any notes the whole class due to my thoughts being elsewhere. Once I had read Yami's note, I didn't reply back to anyone. They all had comfort me for the time being so I felt no reason to reply back. But that didn't mean I felt like taking any notes. Besides, I would get the notes from Yami later so I wasn't too worried about spacing out the whole class.

"Aibou," My head popped up when I heard the gentle word. My eyes focused on the crimson colored ones only a few inches from mine. I blinked and he continued, "Are you alright?"

I nodded my head and noticed that our friends gathered around us. Everyone else in the room was already leaving the class, hurrying to their next one.

"I'm fine, guys," I told them, but noticed that my voice came out in barely above a whisper.

Ryou laid a hand on my arm and I turned my head towards him. His doe-like brown eyes were soft and his voice was gentle, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, Yuge, are you sure?" My head turns towards Joey to find him leaning against Kaiba. His eyes were watching mine.

A voice came up from behind us, interrupting our conversation, "Of course he's sure."

Immediately, Yami pushed me behind him –not that I was complaining- and turned to the newcomer, along with everyone else. "How many times do I have to tell you to leave us alone?" He growled with impatience layer his voice.

From the corner of my eye, I saw movement coming from both Bakura and Marik. Both of them had their hands itching towards their waist bands, looking like they were about to grab a weapon that was no doubt hidden there. They hesitated though, waiting for the signal. Their eyes were glued on the threat.

Ushio just smirked and crossed his arms against his chest, "As many as you want, but I just came here to talk with my partner." His eyes sought out mine but I quickly turned away.

"If you want to talk with him, do so now." Duke said and crossed his own arms.

Tristan nodded and copied his boyfriend, "Because there's no way in hell you'll get to talk to him alone."

In the back of my mind, I was wondering where the teacher was. I did notice, however, that Ushio frowned upon Tristan's statement, but his smirk was back in a flash. "Well alright then. Not that in concerns any of you people." I didn't know how I knew, but Ushio looked directly at me, even though he couldn't see me and said, "Just wanted to tell you, Yugi, that I'm free today after school to start the project."

My hand went from clutching my bag closer to my body to soughing out Yami's and gripping it. I felt his hand move so that he was holding mine in his and he gave a gentle squeeze. He then responded to Ushio for me, his voice low and cold. "Too bad for you, Yugi is going to be busy after school today."

I peeked around my boyfriend's shoulder and noticed Ushio shrugged his shoulder. "Then how 'bout tomorrow? The game shop doesn't open on Tuesdays." He noticed my movement and grinned directly at me.

Instead of trying to hide my face once more, I looked directly at him. I didn't let it show, as I was trying to be brave, but fear was making itself known in the back of my head. I tried to swallow but my mouth had gone dry. How he knew neither Yami nor I opened the shop on Tuesday freaked me out a little. Alright, it freaked me out a lot, so much that my hand subconsciously tightened around Yami's. If I was paying attention, I would have noticed a slight flinch from my partner.

"I've got an idea," Kaiba spoke up for the first time. Everyone turned to him. His icy cold blue eyes were on Ushio, unmoving, unblinking. "Tomorrow, we're all meeting at my house to work on the project. Be there. Thirty minutes after school." He left no room for argument on either side as he turned around and, grabbing his bag containing his laptop and his boyfriend, left the room.

I glanced back at my new partner and noticed him glare after the young CEO. Looks like someone just ruined his plans.

**XxxxX Until next time!**

**I know, I know, it's a really short chapter. I didn't intend for it to be this short, but you can't have them all be long, right? I just have one thing to say and then I'll let you go. I haven't mentioned it yet, because one, I haven't had the right opportunity to explain it and two, I just don't know how to explain it in the story with it being relevant, but Yugi has not told anyone about being raped. All of his friends, including Yami think that the reason why Yugi is very much afraid of Ushio is because of being bullied and because of the scar. I just needed y'all to know and understand that. **

**See y'all soon! **


	17. Chapter 17

**I am SO excited about this chapter! So much happens! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D Enjoy!**

**Replies:**

**Guest- Of course I'll keep updating! I've been waiting to write this chapter for ages! I'm so excited for this chapter! Thanks for reading!**

**Ak- I don't know if you'll see that part, lol, but something does happen to him in this chapter. **** I can't wait! Thanks for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**Warning: Does get a little graphic towards the middle**

**Chapter Seventeen**

It has been twenty-four hours since I found out who my partner for the project was. The person who I feared most in the world, the person who inflicted pain upon me more times than I could count. That's right, Ushio. I tried not to think about having him as my partner and most of the time I succeeded with that thought. But other times, I well… let's just say nothing good came out of it.

As of right now, everyone was gathered at Kaiba's house. Or more like his mansion, as most of you know. And when I say everyone, I mean the whole gang –minus Tea who had dance practice to attend to- and… Ushio. We were all sitting in one of the huge library's, all working quietly on the project. I was sitting on one of the many couches reading a book by the famous American author known as Stephen King, who was the author both Ushio and myself agreed upon. Yami was laying down on the same couch I was, using my lap as a pillow. He was currently using a laptop to research his and Kaiba's author, some author named Mark Twain, while Kaiba was reading one of the books. He was sitting on a different couch with Joey using him as a pillow, the same position Yami and I were in. Everyone else was doing their own research, whether they were reading or researching. We were all scattered around the room, but close enough to where we could still be able to talk if we wanted to.

When we all first met up, Ushio had been unusually quiet. He was rather out of character, not that I minded though. He was the one to suggest that I pick out a book and start reading while he went about and did some research. Whether he was actually searching facts about the author or not, I had no idea. But he had his work cut out for him while I had mine. Right now, he was sitting on the ground in the middle of the room (if he wasn't the one to pick the place himself, I could of sworn that he was sitting there so everyone in the room could watch him, since they all had their chairs angled a little towards him), laying on the ground. A few books were surrounding him, open to certain pages while a laptop he had brought from home was right in front of him. He looked busy, which was good.

I turned a page of the book I was reading and my free hand dropped from holding part of the book to Yami's hair. I ran my hand through it, focusing more on the book than what I was doing. No matter how good a book is, sometimes you get bored at parts. And that was the part I was at. I wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Getting a little bored, aibou?" Yami whispered and I removed my eyes from the words on the paper to find his. His head was tilted my way and a smile played at the corners of his lips.

"Like you wouldn't believe," I told him and rolled my eyes to show my sarcasm. My hand stopped playing with his hair and slide down to his face. My hand cupped his cheek. Before I had any say in the matter (not that I would), he grabbed my hand with his and brought my fingers to his lips. He pressed feather-light kisses on the tips of each finger. It was a simple loving gesture and I let a small smile show. He didn't notice the quick flash of sadness in my eyes before it had disappeared.

"Do you want to take a break?" He asked and held my hand in his, waiting for my response.

At the word break, Joey's head popped up from Kaiba's lap. No wonder the brunet called him a puppy. "I second that statement!" He said loud enough for everyone to stop on their projects and look up. "We should take a break!" He closed the lid to his laptop down and sat up.

I rolled my eyes but marked the page I was reading before closing the book. Just as I was laying the book down on the edge of the couch, Tristan snorted and said, "At every chance, you always want to take a break. Just so you can get out of doing your work." He slid an arm around Dukes waist, bringing him closer to him than he was before.

"And?" The blonde huffed while crossing his arms. His laptop laid on the couch cushion next to him, out of harm's way and his boyfriend on the other side.

Ryou stretched his arms out in front of him, placing his own laptop down. He rolled his eyes at the argument that began between the two partners. His own partner, Malik, continued to read the book the two picked out. He ignored everything that was going on.

Ushio sat up from lying down on the carpet and cleared his throat, instantly shutting the arguing teens up. All eyes went to him, some glaring. He scratched the back of his head, looking a little nervous as he asked, "Where's the bathroom at?"

In a stiff, cold voice, Kaiba told him, "Take a right outside the door and the second door on the left."

The bully nodded his gaze and from where I was sitting, he was trying his hardest not to look my way. He stood up and walked over to the door, his head down and hands stuffed into his jean pockets. The air was thick with tension and a bit of awkwardness.

As soon as the door closed quietly behind him, I blinked my eyes and suddenly tried to move my hand, my fingers growing a little numb. I couldn't. Frowning, I glanced down and noticed that my yami had tightened his hold on my hand as he glared at the closed door. I wiggled my poor fingers, wondering if he knew his grip on me was this tight or not.

After a couple of seconds with me continue wiggling them, Yami finally did notice. He blinked and released his grip on me, sheepishly giving me a smile. "Sorry," He muttered and closed the laptop before sitting up.

I stretched my fingers out to test them so they wouldn't fall asleep and teased him lightly, "I thought I would never feel my fingers again. All of the blood was rushing out of them."

Yami rolled his eyes and bumped his shoulder into mine. I slightly swayed to the left but caught myself and bumped his shoulder back. We did this a couple of times before I giggled and stopped.

"I'm going to go get something to drink," I told him, feeling rather thirsty. "Do you want anything?"

Yami shook his head, "I'm good. Do you want me to come with you?" He offered.

Shaking my head, I stood up. "It's just going to be a quick run." I must have spoke louder than I thought because suddenly, Joey got my attention.

"Hey, Yuge, are you going to the kitchen?" He asked. Somehow, he managed to be sitting at one of the empty tables with Tristan. The two were arm wrestling and it looked to be that they were in a draw. How they managed to start arm wrestling without me even noticing, I have no idea. But with those two, you'll see them doing one thing one minute, and the next _second _they'll be doing something else entirely. How their boyfriends keep up with them was a mystery.

I nodded my head to my best friend. "What do you want?" I decided to ask, knowing that he was going to ask me to get him something anyways. Might as well beat him around the bush first.

"Can you get me a Coke and the bag of Gold Fish please?" He asked. Despite being completely distracted from his match, Tristan was still having a hard time trying to defeat him.

I nodded my head and looked around for anymore 'orders' before I left. Everyone who caught my eye smiled but shook their head. After making sure I didn't need to make a second trip, I turned to the door and left to go to the kitchen.

XxxxX Gets graphic around here!

Walking back to the room everyone was gathered in, I took my time. Sadly, there was no golden crackers in the kitchen, the chef claiming that Mokuba had just finished the bag off earlier today, so I walked back with a glass of water and a can of Coke. Surprisingly, they didn't have any water bottles, but I was okay with that.

"I wonder how much longer we'll work on the project…" I mumbled under my breath. I didn't tell anyone because I knew I needed to suck it up for at least today, but I was getting nervous being in the same room as Ushio. I had Yami and all of my friends in the same room so there would be no way in hell anything could happen. But, just the thought of my… rapist in the same room was enough to make me want to puke and run for the hills. The thought had me slow my pace, not in any hurry to return to the same room with the bully. It didn't matter too much, the thought of walking around felt good.

It was nice to stretch my legs instead of sitting for an hour on the couch, barely moving saving for shifting every now and then. My legs seemed to express their happiness, all of the cramps leaving my muscles. That is, for now. And speaking of my legs but further down to my feet, I glanced down and noticed one of my laces on my shoe came undone. Being like one of those careful kids, I stopped by an end table in the middle of the hall way. I set my two drinks down on the table before kneeling to tie my shoe.

Just as I finished tying the laces together, someone cleared their throat. I froze, not realizing I wasn't alone in the hallway. I must have been so focused on tying my shoe, I never realized someone managed to walk up to me. Slowly, I raised my head and held back a shriek. Ushio was standing not two feet from me, smiling at me.

"Well, well, well," He said as I rose to a standing position. "What're you doing out here alone?"

My heart pounded painfully inside my chest and my breath was caught in my throat. Without even realizing it, my eyes doubled in size and I took a step back from him. Big mistake. As soon as I did, my back hit the wall behind me. And I became trapped.

Finding my voice, I managed to stutter out, "W-what do y-you want?" I tried my hardest to replace my fear with courage and anger from all of the things he did to me, but the smallest of hope of that ever happening was quickly extinguished and the fear consumed everything.

Noticing my retreat, Ushio took it as permission to step forward a few steps until we were mere inches apart from each other. If I had thought of any chance of escape before, it was now gone, disappeared. There was no way I could escape now, not with him this close and if he wanted me too.

I pressed my back against the wall, praying that it would magically swallow me up right now. Of course, the odds were forever never in my favor and stayed intact.

Ushio gazed into my eyes but I quickly looked in a different direction. It didn't matter as he closed the distance between us and our bodies touched. A gasp was heard on my part and I immediately tried to push him back to make my escape. Before, he was way to close and it was uncomfortable. Now, this was crossing the line.

"G-go aw-away!" I frantically continued to try and push him but no matter how much force I gave out, he never budged. I was too weak compared to his big and bulky frame. But, I couldn't give up. Giving up, he would take that as the hint to do whatever he wanted to me. I was not going to allow that.

"You're really cute when you get scared, you know that?" He whispered only loud enough for me to hear. At that moment, my shock and surprise about his statement caused me to stop. And that was when Ushio made his move. Pressing harder against me, he pinned me up against the wall. If I hadn't already been leaning against it, I would have hit it pretty hard.

One of his hands went to the back of my neck to hold me in place while his other hand gripped my waist so I couldn't make some sudden movement.

"W-w-what you're d-doing!" I squeaked, my eyes widening even further. My breath got caught in my throat once again, making it hard to breath. My head and chest pounded painfully in unison.

"I want you, Yugi." Ushio moaned, causing goose bumps to form on my arms from the creeps.

Without any warning, he moved my head to where I was forced to face him. My eyes landed on his and I saw the lust as clear as day in his eyes.

"I-I don't want you!" I choked out. Using my free hands, I continued to push him away from me, not that it was doing much. I had a thought about what he was going to do to me, and that thought alone was making me desperate to get out of his grasps. Where was Yami? Why was Ushio doing this here, in Kaiba's house? Why now? Where was Yami?!

Ushio ignored my useless attempts to escape. In response to my statement, he told me, "But you will." Realizing what he was about to do, I open my mouth to call out for help but he pressed his lips against mine. A strangled noise came from my throat and I tried to move my head away to break the kiss, but the hand holding on to my neck prevented any such movement.

I tried clawing at the bully's shoulder and tried shoving him but nothing worked. All it did was cause his body to press harder against mine to where he was almost crushing me. I managed to break the kiss and quickly closed my mouth. But that didn't matter; Ushio started to kiss my neck roughly and then started to suck. He was giving me a hickey!

A gasp escaped my lips from the contact but I quickly closed my mouth and my eyes. Why couldn't he go away? Why did this have to happen? Yami, where are you?

Once he was finished with my neck, his lips found mine again. He tried to pull them apart with his own so he could explore my mouth, but I wouldn't let him.

I was so focused on trying to keep my mouth closed that I didn't take to notice that his free hand disappeared into my pants until he found what he was looking for and gave it a firm squeeze. At that motion, both my eyes and mouth went wide open in shock. That was what Ushio was looking for as he deepens the kiss and his tongue entered my mouth.

Another noise shot from my throat and tears appeared in my eyes as he gave another squeeze. No matter what, I kept a moan down, refusing to let him hear it.

As his tongue went exploring, he started to stroke my dick. I felt the sudden urge to sit down, to escape from his tongue and hand but with his body pressing against mine, it was impossible. The feeling was all too familiar but at the same time, it wasn't. This was nothing like the night I was raped by him. Now, it felt more… humane. Like he was trying to show love in his movements. But it wasn't working on me. I didn't give a damn if he wanted me, if he _loved _me. I would never love him back.

XxxxX

**Normal POV:**

It had been a while since Yugi had left, Yami noticed. He was busy playing a simple game of Duel Monsters with Duke, just for fun and to help ease his cramped and hurting mind. All of the research for the project was really getting to him, causing him to get a headache. If Yugi hadn't agreed with taking a break, he would have sworn he would have fallen asleep right then and there.

To his left, Joey stood up from the couch. He bent down, giving his boyfriend a quick peck on the lips before straightening back up and announcing, "I'm gonna go see what's taking Yugi so long."

"You just want to find something to eat," Malik rolled his eyes. He had paused his reading and laid back on the ground. He was wishing his man was here to keep him company. But as it was, both Marik and Bakura were out no doubt causing harm to other people. Since they weren't going to do their project, there was no point in keeping them here, unless they wanted to be distracted.

Joey just grinned at the statement and left the room.

Kaiba looked around the room a minute later and quietly thought to himself about who was missing. Ushio hadn't returned back from the bathroom yet. And it had been longer than it should have. A feeling twisted in the pit of his stomach. And that feeling wasn't a good one.

Calmly, he spoke his thoughts, "Ushio hasn't returned, has he?"

Instantly, he noticed Yami's head perked up and his eyes scanned the room for the bully. Suddenly, the pharaoh of old narrowed his eyes and abruptly stood up from his seat, the chair he was sitting in was thrown backwards from the force.

Ryou, Malik, Duke, and Tristan all shared a look at one another. Before they could say anything, however, Yami was already out the door, taking a left in the direction of the kitchen. Yugi plus Ushio being out in the hall ways, even if they had gone different directions, was not a good thing.

Quickly, the ones left in the room got to their feet and trailed Yami out.

XxxxX

**Yugi's POV**

As his stroking became a little faster, I managed to pry open my eyes. My sight was blurry from the tears in my eyes but I blinked past them. Ushio's eyes were closed. He had a look of satisfaction about his face, a look of pleasure. I looked past him, moving my eyes away from his face. I needed to get out of this situation before it went too far.

No one was in the hall ways. Lucky for me, right? But I looked past that. No one was going to help me right now. I was on my own and this time, I was going to do something about it.

Another squeeze managed to get a moan out of my mouth and Ushio smiled against my lips.

To be honest, if this wasn't Ushio but someone else like, say, Yami, I would be enjoying this. But, this was Ushio. My bully. My rapist. I was not _allowed _to enjoy what he was doing. This was wrong, especially with every painful memory he cause, with every mental and physical scar he left me with. So no way in hell was I going to let my body take pleasure in this.

Trying to block out the position I was in, my eyes scanned my surroundings. With a mental frustrated growl, I realized that there was nothing within arm reach that I could use to break free. Nothing except for the cup of water I had placed on the end table. The coke can was too far for my short arms, but my cup…

Praying that this would work, my right hand reached out to the end table. I had to stretch my arm to reach to grab the cup. At first, I thought my arms were too short. I was just an inch away from it! But, Ushio shifted, deepening the kiss and what he was doing… down below and that was it! My fingers touched the cold glass and before thinking about my actions, my fingers curled around it, bringing it closer until my hand could grip the cup.

Before I knew it, I picked the glass up and threw the water at an unexpected Ushio.

The cold liquid sloshed in his face, getting a surprised yell out of him. He stumbled backwards, our lips breaking contact and his hand slipping out of my pants. The cup in my hand dropped from the sudden movement, falling to the floor and shattering upon impact. With him no longer pressed up against my body, I fell, my legs being so shaky they could no longer hold me up.

"Why you little…" Ushio rubbed the water off of his face and a look of anger crossed his face. He glared daggers at me and made a move towards me.

For some reason, I was exhausted. I saw him coming towards me but I made no move to leave. I was too tired and scared that I was glued to the spot. I didn't even register that I was sitting in the pile of broken glass. It wouldn't be until later that I would notice the shards imbedded in my palm.

"Hey!" A familiar voice stopped the bully in his tracks. I suddenly felt relief wash over me when Joey spoke again, though this time he sounded pissed. "What're you doing?" His footsteps increased until he was jogging over to where we were.

I saw him out of the corner of my eye when he came to a stop, standing almost in the middle of me and Ushio. He took in the scene; me sitting on the floor, panting with tears running down my face and Ushio, heavily panting with a look of hatred on his dripping face.

Before he could even say anything, the sound of more running footsteps crossed my ears and before I knew it, Yami was at my side. Kaiba went to stand beside Joey and the other four were in the background.

"We heard glass breaking," Duke said, his eyes wide as he and everyone else took in the scene before them.

"What happened?" Kaiba demanded, looking expectantly at Ushio, seeing how I was in no state to speak. But the bully pointed his glare off in a different direction, not speaking.

Yami leaned down and helped me to my feet. Without meaning too, I was leaning heavily against him, using him for support. "What happened?" He whispered gently as an arm snaked around my waist and held me close to him.

"H-h-he…" I stuttered out, closing my eyes to block what had been going on just a minute before. I buried my face into my dark's chest, my hand grabbing a fist full of his shirt. Yami's arm tightened around me upon hearing the helplessness in my voice. "I-I-I…."

My dark glanced away and his eyes sought out the other hikari's. "Malik, Ryou, will you take him? Take him back to the library."

The two said names nodded their heads and quickly got on either side of me. But I didn't let Yami go. A strangled noise must have escaped out of me before I had time to keep it in because my other half gave me a gently smile. A smile that said he would come back for me. I must have nodded my head and let my hand slacken on him.

Just as Ryou and Malik were leading me away, I heard Yami bark at Ushio to stay where he was while Kaiba and Joey left to the area where the security camera computers were. They were going to watch what had happened.

XxxxX

Instead of leading me back to the library, I broke free from the two other Lighter half's and made a mad dash to the bathroom. I barely made it there before I began to vomit everything that was in my stomach. No matter what, I kept imagining Ushio's face in my head, the way he tasted of a minty gum, the thought of his tongue _in _my mouth. Him pressing up against me and his hand… oh god, it was almost as bad as last time.

Somehow, I knew Malik and Ryou were outside the closed bathroom door, standing guard. I was thankful that they stayed out there. I needed to be alone for now.

The thought of what happened all of those nights ago had me heave everything that was left in my stomach out into the toilet in front of me. Sweat appeared on my forehead and more tears at the burning sensation in my throat. My head hurt, even when I tried to open my eyes. Another thought of the man appeared in my head. But, I had already thrown everything up that was in my stomach. What was I going to throw up now…

And that's when the dry retching started up….

I don't know how long I was in the bathroom for. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours, I wasn't sure. All I knew was that I was in there long enough to almost pass out when a cool hand appeared on my clammy forehead. I weakly opened my eyes, knowing that it was Yami without actually knowing for a fact.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

I barely nodded my head and pushed back from the toilet, having already flushed it earlier when nothing else was coming back. I wiped my mouth on the back of my head and leaned against the wall directly behind me. Breathing in long, slow breaths, I closed my eyes.

It was quiet between us before I managed to croak out, "What happened?" My voice was hoarse and raw, but there was nothing I could do about it. The after taste in my mouth was god awful, but once again, nothing I could do about it.

"We… found out what happened…" Was his short response. I could hear the disgust in his voice, all directed at Ushio. "I can't… I can't believe he had the nerve to even do that!"

I opened my eyes and glanced at him. What came out of my mouth was both a relief but a sin at the same time. "He's done worse before…"

Yami frowned and stared at me, wondering what I meant. I could see it go through his eyes, wondering what could be worse than the attempt… it would be considered rape since I didn't want it, attempt rape. I knew he was thinking about my scar on my stomach. Even though that was pure torture, he knew that what I was talking about didn't have to do with the scar but something more.

"I was raped, Yami." The words came out barely above a whisper and _I _even had trouble hearing it. But, Yami didn't have any trouble. He heard what I had to say. And boy… Hell was freezing over as we spoke.

He stared at me for a second in confusion, like what I had said didn't register in his brain yet. But then his eyes narrowed. A look of murder crossed his face and his lips pressed into a grim line. I hadn't seen him look this… scary looking, this dangerous looking for so long that I was actually scared for Ushio. He had the look that could kill and his body went stiff.

Without saying anything to me, he calmly stood up and spun around. The way he walked out of the bathroom, it looked like he was about to go on a hunt. A hunt that could possible end with a dead body on our hands.

I stayed where I was, knowing fully well what Yami was about to do. It wasn't like I could stop him. No matter what I said or did, he wouldn't care. All that mattered to him and was on his mind was Ushio getting what he deserved. After everything that bully did to me, a small part of me was happy and relieved. He wasn't going to get away with it anymore. But, that other part, it had the feeling of dread. Being who I was, I couldn't just sit by and watch violence acting up. I couldn't let Ushio die, no matter how much he deserved it. And trust me, he deserved it.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, held it in for a second and then exhaled. I did this two more times, calming my body and mind down. By the time the last breath was released, I reopened my eyes and stood up. I needed to go after my boyfriend and make sure he didn't kill Ushio.

XxxxX

**Yami's POV**

Hatred. Pure hatred was coursing through his veins. All he saw was red as he stalked down the hallway. He barely registered his friends calling out to him as he walked past them, on his way to the front of the house. As soon as Kaiba had shown him the tape of that… that bastard _touching_ Yugi, he slugged Ushio hard across the face and ordered him to leave. And all that bastard did was smile and walked away, not caring he had caused harm on someone so innocent.

After finding out that he did more harm than thought, well, let's just say Ushio wasn't leaving the premises of the house.

"You bastard…" Yami growled low underneath his breath. He heard Joey call out for him to stop, but he purposely ignored him. He started to shake so bad that if he were to stop, something around him wouldn't break and it might not just be furniture.

Arriving at the door, Yami opened it with great force, it slammed into the wall. He didn't even see the butler standing next to it jump out of the way to resist not getting hurt.

"Hey!" Yami yelled, seeing the slow figure retreating from the house.

Ushio stopped where he was and turned around. There was a deep smile on his face when he caught sight of the enraged Yami walking across the porch. He literally saw the waves of anger radiating off of the man. This was going to be interesting. He stayed where he was, waiting.

Yami took the stairs three at a time going down, never once taking his eyes off of the man who had caused his Light so many problems. No wonder Yugi was scared of him. It wasn't just because he was bullied, he was raped by this man!

"How dare you," Yami hissed when he was within ear shot. "How dare you hurt him! What the hell has he ever done to you?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," Ushio calmly with that stupid smirk on his face. He cupped his elbows in his palms and crossed them at his chest.

As soon as Yami was within striking distance to the bully, he swung his fist. Landing hard in his gut, Ushio tried not to flinch but he doubled over some from the force of the impact. Boy was Yami madder than the hatter in Alice in Wonderland.

"Like hell you don't." He seethed and pulled his knee up, slamming it upwards to his jaw. "You know very well what I am talking about, you bastard." As soon as Ushio's head came flying upwards, Yami punched him in the cheek. "You raped him! You had no right too!" From somewhere behind him, he heard a startled shout, sounding like Ryou, but he ignored him.

Yami punched him again on the other side of the face. "Yugi has done nothing to you yet you bully him like there's no tomorrow. And then you took advantage of him at his weakest stage by . . . By tainting him!" He punched him in the nose, hearing something pop. As he pulled back, he saw blood began to drip from both his nose and the corner of his mouth.

Ushio used the back of his hand to wipe the side of his mouth. He was doing nothing to defend himself as he let his body get beaten up. His smirk was back in place and what he said next had the pharaoh's blood boiling.

"I'll let you in on a little secret; he's a screamer."

Despite the fact that he was small for his age, Yami barreled straight into him, managing to knock him flat on his back from the impact. Before Ushio could even blink, Yami was on top of him, landing one punch after another on his face. Images of his Light always jumping around him and their friends came to him mind. The thought that Yugi didn't want to be touched by anyone came to mind. The reason why Yugi woke up in the middle of the night, sweaty and frantic popped into mind. The knowledge of his other half always scared…

"You." Punch. "Take." Another punch. "That." Third punch. "Back!" And the final punch.

Breathing hard, Yami glared down at the bloody, disoriented face. But instead of seeing a look of pain or fear, there was that stupid grin once again.

"Never." Ushio coughed out.

Just as Yami pulled back to give Ushio the final blow, putting as much force into it as he could possible manage, someone grabbed his fisted hand from behind. He only had enough time to look over his shoulder before that same person yanked him backwards, hard. He was sent flying off of the former bully and would have stumbled hard onto his back if a second person hadn't been behind him to catch him.

"Let me go!" Yami growled, trying to push against both Bakura and Marik to get back to Ushio. When they had arrived was beyond him, but he didn't care about that right now. He wanted to kill the man who caused his beloved Light so much pain these last couple of months.

He watched with rage as the bully managed to stubble to his feet, all the while watching Yami being dragged away, literally. "So you know, I've never regretted it. Any of it." He yelled out.

Hearing that, Yami almost went beast mode. He managed to break through both of the other yami's and would have made it back to Ushio if it weren't for the fact that Kaiba had arrived and yanked him back by the collar of his jacket. As soon as he did that, both Marik and Bakura were surrounding the pharaoh once again, dragging him against his will back to the house. They didn't say anything or questioned him, totally out of character.

Screaming back, Yami glared at Ushio as he was getting farther and farther away, "Step within a hundred feet of Yugi again, I pray to Ra, I will kill you! That is no threat, it is a promise! I will do whatever it takes to make sure you never step near him again!"

At the corner of his eye, Yami noticed his love slumped against the frame at the door. He looked pale and scared and barely moved. Next to him, Ryou and Malik were just waiting for him to fall so that they could catch him if he did. His Light was watching him with eyes too hard to read. But he wasn't frowning nor was he smiling. He was just watching him.

Turning his attention back to the retreating form of Ushio, Yami glared. Now that he knew why Yugi was scare of Ushio, now he could better protect him. He wasn't going to let any of this be repeated. Not now, not ever.

**XxxxX Until next time!**

**This is the most fun I've had in writing for a while. If you don't like it or if I'm missing something, please let me know. This is by far my favorite chapter. **** I hope you think Ushio got what he deserved. But don't worry, he gets what he deserves at the end. **

**Lisa: Death?**

**I wish. He totally deserves the death penalty. But you'll have to wait and see for that. **

**I've just now noticed that this story is coming to an end. I predict four more chapters, including the alternative ending. Kind of makes me sad…. T_T But, all great stories must come to an end, ne?**

**Lisa: You call this a great story?**

**Yes, Yes I do. Problem with that?**

**Lisa: More than one, yes. But anyways, see y'all later! **


	18. Chapter 18

**Replies:**

**Ak- Thanks! As for Ushio, I have something planned for him but it ain't that violent. XD And I would never have Yami get arrested! Thanks for reading! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**Chapter Eighteen**

To say Yami was calm and collected after his one-sided fight against Ushio would be an understatement. In fact, Yami was the exact opposite. Ever since coming home from Kaiba's house, he was in a foul mood. The dangerous aura continued to cling around him and he was restless. He couldn't stay in one area for long before he would punch or break something.

A couple of times I tried to confront him and calm him down, but he would ignore me, blaming himself for everything that had happened. No matter what I tried or even say, he wouldn't listen. There wasn't much I could do so I'd leave him alone and went upstairs to my room. I wouldn't stay there for very long –worry eating at my insides- before I was back downstairs near him.

At times, I was thinking he was taking this a lot harder than I was or had.

"Yami?" I hesitantly said as I leaned against the door frame in the living room. I watched as he paced around the room, this being his tenth time since coming back home.

He didn't even pause in his pacing but his head moved a little to show he heard me.

"Yami, you need to calm down," I told him. "What happened is in the past and there's no changing any of it. There's no point at staying angry." No matter how much it hurt to say that, I needed to act strong for the both of us. I didn't want Yami hurting himself any more than what he was doing right now. I didn't like seeing him like this.

"How am I supposed to calm down after learning…" Yami started to say in a gruffly voice but then stopped. He slowed his pacing, like he was hesitating. But before I could do anything, he resumed again only to walk over to the middle of the couch and sat down. He hunched forward and covered his face with his hands.

Biting my lip, I walked over to the back of the couch and stopped. Gently grabbing him by both shoulders, I guided him back so he had something to lean against. At first, he was resisting and then went almost limp, allowing me to move him. His hands rested at his sides so his face was no longer covered. As soon as he was leaning back, I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned down a bit, burying my face in the space between his shoulder and neck.

Whispering softly, I told him, "I don't like seeing you like this." My words came out a bit muffled but still understandable.

He didn't say anything.

"I know what Ushio did was horrible, I truly do, but you don't need to act like this. Everything that happened, all of that is in the past. It can't be undone. So please, relax and be calm." I tightened my hold around him just a little. "I don't like seeing you this mad."

Once again, he didn't say anything. His tense muscles were relaxing just a fraction but became stiff once more. They relaxed again but the same thing as before occurred.

I continued to hold him and for a while, we just sat there. I didn't say anything further and he didn't say anything. It was quiet, but maybe that was all he needed; comfort in a quiet place. I needed him to become cool and collected, not on the verge of revenge. But right now, he was. So, I had to take his place. It wasn't twenty-four seven that he was the one always trying to comfort me. Sometimes the tables were turned.

After a couple of minutes, I noticed his posture slacked. His breathing had slowed to a more natural pace. He was beginning to relax. Just as I was about to say something, I noticed something different. His posture was just a little _too _relaxed. And… his breathing wasn't all that normal.

"Yami?" I softly asked, picking my head up just a little.

He didn't say anything.

I turned my head a little and caught a glimpse of his face. I smothered a gasp of surprise. He had his eyes hidden behind his bangs but that wasn't what caught my attention. Silently sliding down his cheeks were tears.

I didn't have time to say anything before Yami leaned forward, my arms falling away. He sat hunched over again, this time covering his eyes with his hands as he cried.

Speechless, I stayed where I was for a minute. This wasn't the exact first time I had seen Yami cry. Back during the whole Orichalcos deal. I wasn't there in person but rather in spirit form when I first saw him cry. But then I had to leave. So now, this was the second time I had seen him cry. It was a little weird. Not in a bad way but more in an _I'm-not-used-to-this _sort of way.

Knowing what I had to do, I walked around the couch and sat next to him, sitting as close to him as the couch would allow me. Almost as soon as I sat down, my arms were wrapped around his slightly shaking frame. I held him close, resting my head on his chest and gave him a firm squeeze.

After a minute or two, I felt arms wrap tightly around my waist, bringing me closer to him. His head was resting against mine and when he spoke, his lips close to my ears, his words were soft and shaky as he continued to cry, "I'm so sorry, Yugi. All of this, all of this is my fault. If it weren't for that mind block, I… You would be safe. There would be no scars on you and you would still be…" He let his sentence linger in the air, unfinished.

It didn't take a genius to know that his last words would be. _A virgin_. If it weren't for the fact that he ignored me, I would still be a virgin and pure. That's what he was getting at.

His grip on me tightened and one of his hands moved to hold the back of my head.

Giving him a minute to cry everything out, I waited, leaning against him. Without giving it much thought, my own eyes welled up with tears and began sliding down my face.

"None of this is your fault, Yami." I finally said, breaking the silence that settled between us. I shifted in his embrace and wiggled free only to lean back and look at him, amethyst upon crimson. Now that I could finally see his eyes, I realized how red they were from crying. His usual glimmer of courage and pride that shown in them was no longer there.

I reached forward with my hand and cupped his cheek. I softly smiled and told him, "How are you to blame when you couldn't even remember anything?" He opened his mouth to argue back but with a small shake of my head, I continued, "You are not to blame. If anyone, it is Ushio and myself. Ushio because well, he's just a bully looking for some poor soul to torture and myself because…" I took a deep breath, calming my nervous mind. "And myself because I was dumb enough to let myself be caught by him. So none of this is your fault."

"You can't be blaming yourself for this, Yugi." Yami told me. He laid one of his hands on mine that was still holding his cheek. "None of this is your fault. You were the victim in all of this."

"And what gives you the right to blame yourself?" I gently challenged him. For once, he looked away, searching his brain for an answer that didn't involve the mind block. As he thought, I quickly continued, "There's no reason to blame yourself, Yami. None at all. There's nothing that can be done to change all of this and revenge is not the answer. What's been done is done. We need to move on from this, forget that it ever happened."

His hand tightened around mine and he removed my hand to hold in both of his. His eyes found mine again and he took a slow, shaky breath. His eyes were no longer producing tears but his cheeks were still slick with wetness.

"This is not something easy to forget, Yugi." He finally told me after a minute of silence.

I shook my head, knowing what he said was true. "It's not. I've been trying but the memories always come back and hits me hard." I glanced away, wondering if the nightmares would ever go away or if they will forever haunt me. I shook my head, ridding myself of such thought. I turned back to Yami and managed a small smile, "But you know, karma is a bitch."

Yami grinned and rolled his eyes at my cursing. He pulled me to him and hugged me as tightly as he could, muttering in my hair, "Swearing does not suit you, aibou." He told me. "But, for you are right on that. He'll get what's coming to him sooner or later."

I hugged him back, satisfied I managed to get him away from his revenge, even if it was only for now.

XxxxX

A little while later, both Yami and I were at Burger World, munching on a late dinner. We weren't very hungry so we were sharing a small burger and fries, along with a chocolate shake. Our conversation was light and small, neither of us really wanting to talk. Our mines were full to the point that if we spoke, we would unleash what was on our mines.

I was in the middle of dunking a French fry into the puddle of ketchup on our plate when I suddenly sensed a person looming over us. Startled, I glanced up and was surprised to find a certain blonde grinning at us.

"J-Joey!" I managed to say, alerting Yami to glance away from the window. I put my fry down and scooted to the left of the booth, allowing him some room to sit down. "What're you doing here?"

Joey sat down and made himself comfortable. Like usual, he casually picked up some fries and dunk them in to the ketchup before placing them in his mouth. Even though his mouth was slightly full, he said, "Ah, was just in the neighbor hood and saw you two so I thought I'd come by and say hi."

"And eat our food," Yami added, his voice soft and full of sarcasm. He rolled his eyes and glanced at me. He winked before looking away.

Whether Joey heard the comment, he didn't let on. He swallowed his mouth full and licked the salt that was on his fingers off. "So, what're you two doin'? Besides eatin' supper." He laid his arms down on the table and casually leaned against it.

I shrugged my shoulders, playing with the straw of the milk shake. "We lost track of time and didn't realize it was already dinner time." I said, which wasn't a lie. "And we didn't really feel like cooking anything." I took a small sip and the sudden chocolate ice cream flooded my mouth, causing my brain to relax some. Even though chocolate was a girl thing, always able to calm them down, it did the same for me. Yami one time teased me, after telling him, and he called me a girl.

As I took another sip, I felt something vibrate in my pocket. Tensing just slightly, my hand left the cup and reached into my pocket, digging for my cell phone. Once it was out, there was an unread message. Biting my lip, already knowing who it was without actually knowing who it was, I flipped the phone open. I never knew why I read the texts anymore, since I always ignored me.

On the screen once the message was opened, it read:

To: Yugi

From: Danny

_Plz meet me park? I want 2 tlk _

I quickly closed my phone, not bothering to text back. I placed it on the table next to me and tried to forget about it. When I glanced away, my eyes found Yami starring at me, watching me. I gave him a small smile and shrugged. Apparently my eyes were a little distracted. He started to get use to that look and he knew it as _Danny-was-wanting-to-talk _look. He knew everything about Danny and he understood why he wanted to talk with me. But, he never tried to butt into it. He stayed out of it, not wanting to get in the middle of it.

Yami turned his eyes away, over to where Joey was finishing the rest of my cheese burger. "So why are you not with Seto?" He asked to start a conversation up.

Joey chewed his bite before saying, "He was busy doin' paper work and no matter who hard I tried, he wouldn't leave his work." He shrugged his shoulders to show it wasn't a big deal. "So I decided to go on a walk. Tristan was busy with his family and I didn't feel like hangin' with no one else since I knew you two were uh… busy." His eyes shifted to the ground for a minute, remembering how earlier today, the both of us –me and Yami- left the Kaiba mansion a little after Kaiba had the police to escort Ushio off of his property. We left without saying a word and no one dared say anything, after witnessing Yami was about to murder the bully.

I glanced away, feeling a little awkward and bad about not saying good bye to say one. I knew they all understood, but still…

Joey continued, clearing his throat, "But yeah, I was just walkin' around the city, lookin' for somethin' to do."

Yami nodded his head and played with a fry on his side of the table. The both of us completely gave our supper up to the hungry blonde, not that we really minded. Food just wasn't on our mind, not with everything that happened today.

"So," Joey looked between me and Yami as he carefully took another bite of his hamburger, "Is everythin' alright between you-,"

Cutting him off was a soft ringing noise. I jumped, startled by the sudden noise and looked directly to my left, realizing it was coming from my phone. Both of the other boys' watched as I picked my phone up and opened it.

"Who is it?" Yami asked when he noticed my face dropping.

I glanced up, my face showing both annoyed and hesitation. "It's Danny." I didn't answer yet.

When a ring had passed, Joey asked, "Are you gonna answer it?"

I looked back down to the phone. Something in my stomach told me that I should answer it. A gut feeling. But, why would I answer him now? I never did. I just left it to ring and go to voicemail. But that feeling was back and before I had a chance to question myself, I pushed the Talk button and placed the receiver up to my ear.

Using that annoyed voice to show I was still angry with him –without even trying-, I said, "What do you want, Danny?"

On the other end, I heard the scruffy noise of the wind in the background. He was outside, probably waiting at the park. But, instead of hearing his voice on the other end, I heard a different one. A voice more deeper than Danny's. A voice that I had heard earlier today. …

"_Well, its sounds like you're still angry with poor, wittle Danny."_ The voice on the other end mocked.

The grip on my phone tightened, alerting Yami. I stared at the seat in front of me, for some reason anger building up in the pit of my stomach. "Why do you have his phone?" I demanded. This definitely got the attention of Joey, who hadn't heard me get angry for so long.

The voice on the other end chuckled and said, "_My, you're angry. That's good. I wasn't aware you actually _got _angry. I just knew you got scared. But, you want to know the reason why I have Danny's phone?" _He waited for a response but he didn't give me long enough to as he continued, _"If you come to the park, you'll see why."_

"What have you done to him?" I suddenly growled, a feeling of protective-ness filling me. Just because I hadn't talked to Danny for so long didn't mean I didn't have feelings for him anymore.

"_You'll see." _He said. "_But you better come quick. Time's running out." _And the phone went dead.

Not liking the last three words, I was on my feet in a heartbeat, ushering Joey out of the booth so I could leave.

"What's going on?" Yami asked, noticing my urgency. He stood along with me, having already placed the correct amount of money on the table. He grabbed his leather jacket seated next to him.

After making it out of the booth, I grabbed my own jacket. I told him in a rush as I slipped my arms through the sleeves. "Ushio… he has Danny's phone." I said, my voice picking up speed. "He… he told me time was running out!" Before giving my boyfriend and best friend an explanation, I raced out of the restaurant and out into the cold weather. I didn't even apologized or used manners as I bumped into people. All that mattered was getting to the park and being polite would waste time.

As I squeezed through a group of people in the way, I heard Yami yell for me. He told me to slow down, no doubt to stop me and think of a plan. But for once, I didn't listen to him. The way Ushio was talking, it sounded like Danny's life was on the line. And I wouldn't put it past the bully to actually have someone's life in danger. I kept going.

The park wasn't too far away from the restaurant I was at so thankfully I didn't have to run far. But I did have to cross a major street in order to reach the park. By the time I came to the cross walk, my light to go was red, telling me not to walk yet.

I glanced around frantically, realizing I was the only person at the crosswalk. There were only a few cars driving around and they were far in the distance. Praying that luck was on my side, I dashed out into the middle of the street, ignoring a car honking at me and swerving to avoid hitting me. How the appeared out of nowhere since all of the cars were nowhere near me was beyond me. I didn't have time to question the thought as I focused on my task at hand; getting to the park as soon as possible.

The park quickly came into my sight. A sense of relief washed over me, the feeling of rest that I would stop running and give me aching legs and lungs a chance to breathe. But I didn't stop running. The park was a huge place and I didn't even know where Ushio and Danny were. With my luck, it would take an hour to find them.

I hopped off of the sidewalk and stumbled into the grass, down a hill to get to the grassy fields. I knew a park was close by, off to my right. I decided to look there first. As I ran in the new direction, I saw a group of people standing maybe twenty feet away from me. There was at least five guys standing and one on his knees. But the guy who was kneeling was being held by the upper arms by two other guys and I couldn't see his face. If I hadn't known better, I would think the guy who was on his knees was getting beaten up.

That's when I realized as I came a little closer. The guy on his knees _was _getting beaten up! And that guy was Danny. Ushio was standing in front of him, punching his supposed buddy in the gut and face. The people around the two were rooting their leader on, like they wanted Danny to be beaten to a bloody pulp.

"Stop!" I screamed, horrified. I stopped ten feet away from the group, my eyes only trained on my friend's face.

Everyone turned towards me, including Danny. That's when I noticed Danny's face. Blood was covering his face and dripping off of him. He looked to have a black eye but I couldn't be sure with all of the blood. His lips were a little swollen and a bruise was on his cheek, close to his jaw. His hair stuck to his face from his life force and he looked like a mess. That about summed it up for his face. Without even having to look down, I already knew his clothes were torn and tattered and stained red.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Ushio grin. He didn't turn towards his lackys, but made a motion with his hands. With that command, the two holding Danny let him go and walked away. The victim of the group collapsed on the grass and didn't move. He didn't roll over to lay on his back or side. He simply didn't move.

To my horror, I tried to look for a sign that he was still breathing and alive. But, I couldn't. His chest wasn't moving up and down. It was still. Danny, the person who I had ignored for so long, had been beaten to the death.

**XxxxX Until next time!**

**The cliffy wasn't written all that well. Sorry 'bout that. My life has been hetic. -.- Well, that's really all I have to say! See y'all next time! **


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey guys! Sorry about the late updating! And no, I'm not dead. I'm very much alive! But, senior year… wow. It's left me no time to write. x.x that and work is the same. But, here is the chapter! After this one, there are officially two chapters left. The **epilogue** is next and then an **alternate ending** is last. I can't believe it's coming to an end! **

**And one more thing. Someone mentioned this and I feel stupid for not realizing it. When Yami and Yugi were talking and Yugi had told Yami that he was raped, I didn't realize I wrote that Yami said (or implied) to Yugi that he was impure, that he was tainted. To be honest, that's really harsh. I didn't intend for Yami to imply that Yugi is tainted because he was raped. I was trying to get out that Yugi is no longer a virgin. Sometimes not being a virgin means you are no longer innocent, whether you were raped or not. That's what I was trying to get at, honest. Yami blames himself because his light will never be innocent/ a virgin again and he went down the wrong, horrible way. **

**In all honesty, I never noticed that. I don't want you to think that Yami doesn't like Yugi because he was raped. Yami loves his Light. He's just mad at himself for letting this happen. I hope that clears everything up. Sorry and thank you for pointing that out, Purple Lulu! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**Chapter Nineteen**

"Danny!" I yelled, praying that he would move or at least respond. My head was spinning with what I just witnessed and it didn't help that I was panting uncontrollable. My first instinct was to rush over and make sure he was okay, but the second thought held me back. What if he was really dead?

Don't be stupid, a voice seemed to say. If he was dead then …

For some reason, I never finished the thought. I couldn't. I couldn't imagine Danny being dead. That wasn't possible. He couldn't be… This was Danny, the guy who kept me going when things got rough. The guy who gave me advice and always had me looking forward to the next day. Sure, at the time I didn't know it was him. But now…

All of that went through my head in about two seconds. I finally came to my decision. My first instinct took over and I began to run over to my fallen friend. But just as I managed to take one step, I felt an arm wrap around my waist, bringing me back. I already knew who it was without having to actually look back.

"Yami, let me go!" I pleaded without taking my eyes off of the still form. I tried to remove his arm, tried to wiggle free. But nothing would work. Yami's arm was like iron. He wouldn't budge. "Please!" I looked over my shoulder and my eyes immediately found his. The look I was giving him, it must have worked because a second later, I felt his arm slacken around me.

Turning my attention back to where it was originally, I ran. I ran as fast as I could, not caring that Ushio was going to be only a couple of feet from me. I wasn't going to let my life be ruled by fear because of him, not while my friend was dead at his feet. Somewhere behind me, I heard Yami and Joey run after me.

Not sparring the bully a glance, I dropped down to my knees next to my friend. I hesitantly reached my hand out and rolled him over to his back. Just as I did, I gasp and tears sprang to my eyes. From far away, Danny looked bad. But up close, god, it was worse. Much worse. Scratches covered his whole face and there was a deep gash running along his temple down to his chin. Blood continued to seep out of the head wound. The rest of his body had more scratches and bruises and he was in poor condition.

"Danny," I whispered. I ignored the background noise behind me. Yami and Joey were yelling at Ushio at the same time shielding me from his eyes. But I ignored them and focused on the guy in front of me. I leaned over his form and placed my ear close to his slightly parted lips and held my breath. I couldn't hear anything other than my own heart racing in my chest. But as I tried harder and tuned everything extra out, I could hear something. A faint trace of air

"He's still breathing!" I blurted out, joy corrupting my insides. I sat up straight and my eyes stayed on the guy in front of me. A smile broke through my depressed expression.

"Yeah, but for how long?" Ushio taunted somewhere from afar.

My smile faltered as quickly as it had come. He was right. Unless I did something, Danny won't be breathing for that much longer. There had to be something that I could do. But what? What could I do to bring him back, to get his heart back to beating and to get him breathing normal?

The thought came to me a second later and I felt stupid for not thinking of it earlier. Gritting my teeth, I shook my head. I glance over my shoulder and found Yami now wrestling Ushio to the ground. I didn't know how I missed it, but there was a small line of blood above Yami's right eye as Ushio went down and Yami holding his wrists. Joey was dealing with three of the other guys as they were trying to push past to get to their leader. But the blonde held them back with ease.

Returning my attention back so that I could focus, that's when I noticed something different. Something had changed in the second I had looked away. Danny's chest completely stopped moving and there was no longer air being breathed in and out through his mouth.

More panic swelled in my chest. But then I mentally slapped myself. If I quit acting like a scared three year old kid, I could save my friend! I inhaled a slow, calming breath to ease my panicked mind and then exhaled. I could feel the panic die down some, which was good. I didn't need anything distracting me. Before I knew what I was even doing, I began the process of CPR. The lesson from school I had to do multiple times to get the steps just right flew to my mind and I didn't really have to think about it. My hands were on top of one another on Danny's still chest, and I started to help his heart get back into its normal beating pattern. I was concentrating so hard, I barely noticed I started to count softly.

"Five… Six… Seven…" I continued to count. "Twenty-seven… Twenty-eight… Twenty-nine…" I paused for half a second in the compressions and moved to Danny's face. I tilted his head back a little and opened his mouth. I was in full concentration that the thought of my lips touching someone else's that wasn't Yami's didn't bug me or make me giddy. I didn't even give it thought. I pinched his nose and my lips touched his. I took the biggest breath I could and gave it to him. And then I was back to doing the compressions.

I didn't know how much time had passed. A minute? Two minutes? Whatever it was, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I didn't acknowledge the person next to me, in fear that I would lose focus. I kept on pumping my friend's chest, praying that his heart would start beating soon.

"Yugi," A soft voice reached my ears and I immediately recognized it as Yami's. "Yugi, stop." His voice was sincere and a little sad. I could hear a trace of panting coming from him but it was barely there.

I shook my head and a noise came from my throat. Tears pooled in my eyes and I bit my tongue to keep myself from crying. I was in the middle of my twentieth compression when Yami's hand tightened on my shoulder.

"Please, Yugi. He… he's dead."

I shook my head furiously this time and refused to stop. Once again, I paused in the compression and made my way to give mouth to mouth when Yami slung an arm around my chest and gently, yet firmly, pulled me back.

"No!" I screamed and struggled with all of my might. "Yami, let me go!" I tried fighting him, grabbing at his arm to try to loosen his grip. But it wouldn't work. Thrashing around didn't work either. "I-I can s-save him!"

However, Yami kept pulling me away. We made it about three feet away from the still form formally known as Danny Hilmon when my body went limp. My darker half stumbled a bit from the sudden dead weight, but managed to keep me upright. His words had finally kicked in and it dawned on me that he was right. Danny was officially dead. There was nothing I could do.

Tears poured down my face and I made a move to bury my face against my boyfriend's chest when something out of the ordinary happened. Someone sucked in a loud breath and started to have a coughing fit.

"Danny!" I practically screamed as I saw his head rise as he struggled to breathe. My CPR had something. Danny returned back to the living!

XxxxX

_Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep… _

My eyes felt heavy as I leaned against the hard wooden chair in the small hospital room. The chair was so big –that or I was that small- that I could curl up in the seat and be comfortable. But I didn't. I sat up straight and didn't move. My legs were crossed at the ankles and my hands folded in my lap. For the past three days, this was where I was; in this position. I wouldn't move for hours, only to use the restroom and nibble on something small or to go home when visiting hours were over.

I blinked my eyes a couple of times took a deep breath, trying to not fall asleep. Ever since Danny was checked into the hospital, he had been asleep. The doctors said that he was in a small coma so that his body could heal. They didn't seem too worried about him, but that didn't mean I wasn't. I was aching for him to open his eyes, for him to move and smile. Watching him sleep, it hurt on the inside.

_Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep… _

The door behind me opened to the room. I didn't turn around or so much as moved. The only people who entered the room was either the doctors or nurses, or Danny's family; his mom and dad, and his younger sister. Today, it was a nurse. She walked over to her patient, ignoring me, and began her work. She knew that no matter what she said to me, nothing would work. So she stopped trying.

I didn't watch her. My eyes were only on one person. Just like always.

After a couple of minutes, the nurse left the room and closed the door right behind her. My eyes sort of drooped closed a bit. But before they could close all the way, I jerked myself back awake. I shook my head to clear it from the hazy feeling.

After pulling almost two fuller nighters, my body was begging me to sleep. But I wouldn't let it. Not until Danny woke up. I was afraid if I fell asleep, something bad would end up happening. Didn't it always happen like that?

My eyes strayed away from Danny's peaceful, sleeping face. They were blurry so I blinked a couple of times to get the moisture going again. I ended up shifting my gaze to his hands laid flat out next to him on the bed.

Being careful, I took one of my own hands out of my lap and placed it on the bed next to his own. To be honest, I wasn't aware of what my body was doing. My mind was in a state of its own, sort of like auto-pilot. So I didn't really notice my hand slip into his.

If Yami was here, he would have noticed the movement. But, he knew it wouldn't have meant anything. I could tell that he was confused about my feelings towards Danny, I mean, I was confused as hell too. But Yami knew something was and had happened between us. But no matter how curious he got, he never question it. There were some things I didn't tell him about Danny, other than how he was the only friend I had while Yami and everyone else ignored me, and I never wanted him to know. Even when I had no idea the boy I had met online lived in Japan, I started to have feelings for him. Even after getting back together with Yami, those feelings never changed much.

I squeezed Danny's hand slightly. Tears welled up in my eyes and I did nothing to stop them from flowing down my face.

"I'm so… so sorry, Danny." I whispered, my voice hoarse from not using it for so long. I cleared my throat and tried again, "If I hadn't ignored you and just listened to you, you wouldn't have been beaten up." My eyes stayed on our connected hands. "You never would have gone to the park in the first place…"

"You're wrong…" A different, hoarser voice said back. The hand I was squeezing curled around mine and added a bit pressure.

I froze for maybe a second before my eyes shot up to Danny's. Instead of seeing his eyes closed like I had been for the past few days, I stared back into his stormy gray eyes. There was a dull light to them, but nonetheless there was still life in them.

"Danny," I breathed, shocked to finally see him awake. Relief suddenly washed over me and a grin made its way slowly onto my face. "Y-you're finally awake!"

Said name barely gave me a small smile that looked more like a grimace. Even with his eyes opened, he looked a lot better. His skin was still as pale as snow and bruises covered almost every inch of his skin, but he looked more alive than anything.

"Hey, Game." He softly spoke. His eyes were a bit droopy but they were on me.

"How are you feeling?" I asked. It was a dumb question, how are you feeling, but it was all I could think of. I could relate to his pain –maybe not the near death experience- but all of the bruises and feeling like crap, yes.

Danny looked away from me for a minute and looked around his room. As his eyes roamed, he spoke. "Like shit. But who wouldn't after a major beating?" He found my eyes again and gave a weak chuckle.

I smiled along with him. Maybe because he himself was laughing or because so much relief filled my brain, or probably both. "Do you want me to get the nurse?" I asked.

He shook his head and closed his eyes once again. He leaned back against his pillow and before I could wonder if he was falling asleep again, he said, "What happened?"

"What do you mean?" I glance down at the bed.

"The last thing I remember was Ushio and the gang surrounding me and pain." He said. "And then everything went black." I glanced back up and found him starring at me. "And then your voice… I know this sounds corny, but I heard your voice." His hand squeezed against mine, tighter than it was originally. "You were calling out to me."

He paused so I took the time to ask him what happened next. He smiled at me and said, "And then I woke up to seeing you right next to me."

I couldn't tell if my cheeks were heating up or it the temperature was. I didn't say anything to his comment and just nodded my head.

Silence lingered between us before I asked him what was on my mind. "Do you know why… Ushio was beating you up?"

Danny went silent and he turned his gaze away. He stared at the wall to the left of him, to where a painting of a field full of different wildflowers was covering the hills. I waited for him to speak, all the while examining his expression. There was anger mixed with pain and sadness.

He finally spoke, after a minute. "Yes." My curiosity sparked but I didn't question him. He would tell me what it was if he wanted to or not. And now, he didn't. Instead, he looked at me again and changed the subject, "So," he cleared his throat, "what're you doing here? Isn't it a school day?"

I sadly shook my head, "No, it's the weekend now." His eyes widen a bit. "You were out for a few days."

"R-really?" He asked.

I nodded my head. "The doctors said you fell into a small coma so that your body could heal. They couldn't really tell how long the coma was going to last, three to ten days usually."

He sort of ignored me and asked, "So, is it Saturday or Sunday?" By the way his eyes looked, almost scared looking, I frowned.

"It's only Saturday. Why? What's wrong?"

He looked at me and our eyes stayed on one another for a little while. Then he shook his head and closed his eyes again. "Sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to startle you. It's just…" He took a deep breath and reopened his eyes. Instead of looking at me, his gaze was back on the painting. "It's just, on Sunday, I'm leaving."

"Leaving?" I asked, my nose scrunching up like a rabbit. "What do you mean? Is your family going out of town?"

He shook his head. "I wish, but no. My family and I… we're moving. And tomorrow is our last day here in Japan."

XxxxX

Either my heart stopped beating or I was in mild-shock. The breath got caught in my throat and my eyes widen. "Y-you're what?" I didn't mean for my voice to get squeaky and high pitch. Nor for my hand to subconsciously tighten around his.

"Moving," He replied glumly. "My parents told me a few weeks ago that no matter what, we're moving. All of my stuff is packed up and ready to go, so I guess when I get out of the hospital, we're leaving." He seemed so sure of himself that I looked away.

"B-but…" My eyes welled up with tears but I didn't allow them to fall. "You can't…" My voice sounded weak and pathetic now and I glanced back.

Danny gave me a tired smile. "I know. I don't want to leave either, but I can't be left behind by my family. I mean, they're my family. I have to go with them."

That's when realization hit me. I loosened my grip on his hand and took my hand back. A look of disappointment crossed his face but quickly disappeared. Setting my hands in my lap, I stared down at them. Quietly, but loud enough for him to hear, I muttered, "That's why you were trying to talk to me these last few weeks, wasn't it? You wanted to tell me that you were moving."

Even with my head down, I knew he was nodding his head. "That too. When I first found out, I tried to get a hold of you. But you didn't want to talk to me and your friends wouldn't let me anywhere near you. But that wasn't the only reason." Before giving me a chance to ask what the other reason was, he continued talking.

"You never gave me a chance to apologize to you. Through the months we were talking, I wanted to tell you, Game. I really did. But, I knew what your reaction was going to be, so I kept quiet. You needed someone to talk to, to help you get through all of the shit that was happening. You can call me selfish, but I did that to keep you safe." I kept my head down and he took a deep breath and continued on. "I don't know why Yami and your friends were ignoring you, I don't. But because they weren't talking to you, I thought that I could become your friend for the time being. I didn't want you to get hurt…"

"But I did." I bitterly said.

Danny paused and then nodded his head. His voice was full of regret, "Ushio… I tried to get him to leave you alone but he wouldn't. He said I had a crush on you and every time I brought the subject up, I was beaten up. But I never stopped trying." He quickly added.

The memory from a few months ago popped into my head. The gang had me surrounding up against a wall and Ushio was about to do the wrong. But Danny stopped him.

"And that night…" His voice changed again. This time, it was filled with anger. When I glanced up, both of his hands were curled into fists, the sheets bunched up. "The night where you got…" He couldn't say the word but I knew what he was talking about anyways. "I-I wasn't there. I had to stay home to take care of my sister. B-but if I was there, you… you wouldn't have been…" His eyes were squeezed shut and he had tears squeezing past his eyelids.

I was quiet, taking in the scene. He was blaming himself for my actions. My actions about getting raped. He was blaming himself.

"Danny, listen to me." My own voice sounded stronger now than it did a couple of minutes ago. I took my hands out of my lap and laid them on top of his clenched ones. I waited until he opened his eyes and gave him a small smile. "That wasn't your fault." He opened his mouth to protest but I quickly continued, "You can't always be around to protect me. This was bound to happen." It felt like I was talking to Yami all over again. "As much as I hate to admit it, Ushio would have gotten his way one way or another. He's not the type of guy to give up so easily."

The wounded nodded his head in agreement. "You got that right," His voice cracked and using his free hand, wiped his tears away with his arm.

"Don't blame yourself for this. I can tell it's eating away at you."

"But if I had-,"

I cut him off easily, "You were busy, Danny. Like I said; you can't always be around to protect me. Don't. Blame. Yourself." I stared at him intently, seriousness written all over my face. My emotions were changing so fast that some people would think I was bi-polar. But, I'm not. Our conversation, different emotions were required to make sense.

We stared at each other. Someway, I had to get through to him that it wasn't his fault. Yami was a challenge and so far, Danny was claiming to be a challenge. How the hell were you supposed to convince them that is wasn't their fault?

Apparently, I didn't need to.

Danny crumbled and his shoulders fell from their tense state. He hung his head and his fists released the sheets. "But still…"

"No, you need to forget and stop that." I stood up from my chair and sat down on the bed next to him. I picked his hand up from the sheets and held it in both of my hands. "You have no control over Ushio and his actions. If I didn't know better, he was waiting for the opportunity for you to be busy so he could do whatever he wanted to."

Danny watched my movements and took in what I had said. It was quiet for maybe a couple of seconds before he frowned and growled, "I'm gonna kill him."

For the first time within the last couple of days, I giggled. "You better get in line." Danny smiled with me.

When another comfortable silence settled between us, a thought came to me, something Danny had mentioned when he woke up but didn't elaborate on. "So, you never did answer my question." I gave him a small pout.

Danny bit his lip from laughing at my expression and asked, "What question would that be?"

"Why did Ushio beat you up? He looked like he wanted to kill you."

His face dropped but he continued to bit his lip. "He had intentions too." He muttered. "The thing about gangs, you're usually in them until the leader either kicks you out or you have a valid reason why you are leaving. If your reason is not valid or the leader doesn't like it, there's punishment.

"I told him that I was moving but he didn't really believe me. He thought I didn't want to be in the gang anymore because I was a wuss and couldn't take their way of life anymore. So my punishment was just all of the rest, a good beating that would leave some sort of mark. I think why he was delivering the punches, part of his anger came out. He never really did like me."

I frowned. "This doesn't really make any sense."

"What doesn't?" He looked at me with curiosity in his eyes.

"Why didn't he like you? Why didn't he believe you and more importantly, why did you even join the gang in the first place? By the way of things, it looks like you never even did like Ushio in the first place."

The former bully nodded his head in understanding. "I can understand your confusion, believe it or not. A few years ago, before I had first joined the gang, Ushio was one of my best friends. We grew up together since we could walk and we always had each other backs. But, when we first entered middle school, we sort of went our separate ways. He joined a gang while I made friends with, well, better kids. But one day I got into trouble and was beaten up. Ushio found out and told me about his gang and I soon joined. I was protected from those bullies that had beaten me up and learned how to street fight to protect myself.

"As the years went by, I stayed with the gang. They were my family. Until we hit high school. Ushio thought of himself as superiors to the middle school kids, despite the fact that we were just in their place. He began to torment them and I only went along with it because of everything we've been through." He paused and took a deep breath, like he was regretting all that he had done. Which he probably was. "And then things got worse. I tried to talk to Ushio about it, to get him to stop…"

"But then he took it out on you." I guessed.

He nodded his head. "Yup. A lot of things happened, nothing important. But that went on for a few years. It was a hard life, and I wish I had done something about it. But to be honest, I was a little scared too. Ushio is an imitating person." He gave a small smile and shrugged his shoulders. But from the movement, he winced.

Immediately, I was alerted. "Are you alright? Do you need me to get the nurse?" I was beginning to rise to my feet, focused on helping him get better when he reached out and grabbed my wrist, keeping me hovering a few inches above his bed.

"I'm fine," he said. "Just a little pain. Nothing I can't handle." He gave me a smile and gently guided me back down to sitting. Once I was situated back on the bed, he continued once again, "To sum everything up, I stayed with the gang, despite them tormenting little kids. And then I found out they were going after you. All thoughts of quitting the gang left my mind. If I stayed with them, I could look out for you. And especially everything that happened with your… significant other. You needed someone to look out for you. Not because you can't already," he quickly added, fearing that I would take it the wrong way.

I rolled my eyes, not in the least bit mad or taken aback. "It's alright, I understand that part. To be honest, it's nice when you have someone looking out for you whether you want it or not. A lot of people would disagree with that, but after years of being in the middle of trouble, you tend to appreciate it more." I smiled and after a minute, he did too.

"So, how are you and Yami doing?" He decided to ask, changing the subject to something else since it seems like we covered everything.

A small smile appeared upon my face and I looked down. "We're doing good. Much better considering all that has happened."

"I can tell."

I glanced up and tilted my head a little to the side. "Can tell what?"

It almost seemed like there was jealousy in his eyes but when he blinked, it disappeared, leaving me to wonder if I had imagined it. "The way he looks at you." Danny said. "He has that look in his eyes again. The look of love and admiration. Before, when everything had gone to shit, that look disappeared from his eyes and in its place was cold, heartless look. Never directed at me, but always at you. Well, every time I saw you two cross paths."

Amusement appeared on my face as I asked, "What, were you stalking me?"

Two red circles appeared on both of his cheeks and if he could move his hands, he would scratch his head in embarrassment. "I uh… No, I uh... wasn't."

Giggling softly at his reaction, I took his hand in my and gently played with his fingers without looking. "You don't have to explain yourself, I think I understand." The words Ushio and protection came to my head and I pieced it all together from there.

With a sigh of relief, he grinned. "But, to be honest Game, I'm glad that things are back to normal between you two."

I nodded my head in agreement. "I am too." With a small pause going on between us, my mind seemed to shift back a little to our previous conversation and before I had time to think about the question, I blurted out, "Where are you going to be moving too?"

Danny blinked and then looked away. But, before he had time to answer my question, the door opened and the doctor came in, followed by both of his parents. One look at the mom and seeing her child awake, I took that as my cue to leave.

Giving him a quick squeeze on his hand, I smiled and softly said, "I'll try and see you later." He barely managed a nod to me –not before seeing a look of regret crossed his face at our time being over- before his parents were all over his, namely his mom, asking all sorts of questions. I managed to squeeze by and exited the reunited family. Now all that was left to do for me was to go home.

XxxxX

The walk home from the hospital was rather short, considering that I was lost in thought for the whole time. With Danny waking up and telling me he was moving… It was a lot to take in. We basically get back on talking terms only to find out that was going to be short lived. Why did I have to ignore him all that time? Instead, we could have… _I _could have made his time here worth it while it was going to be his last. Now, instead, for the last couple of months, he was alone. Why did I have to be so self fish and wrapped up in my own problems?

I didn't realize it, but I started to cry. Thankfully, it started right when I made it to the game shop and out of the public area where everyone would look at me with either looks of pity or wonder why I was crying. And best thing about right now, the game shop was still closed, so no customers in the area either.

Quickly, I exited the shop and made it to the house part. As soon as I entered, without taking my coat off, I went straight to the living room where I heard noise coming from the TV. Yami was there alone, laying down on the couch with one arm hanging off of the cushions in mid-air with the controls in his hand. He was lazily flipping through the Guide, trying to find something to watch. But as soon as entered the room, his head popped up.

As soon as he saw me, with tears streaming down my face, he was alerted and on his feet. The controls were left unattended on the couch and he was across the room in a matter of seconds, pulling me into his embrace. I allowed it, immediately burying my face into his chest, sobbing silently. He didn't ask questions, he didn't even say anything. Hundreds of thoughts must have flown through his head but he kept silent, only rubbing my back in small, circular motions. He kissed my cheek and held me, whispering small encouraging, loving words in my ear.

And that's how the rest of our night went…

**XxxxX Until next time!**

**Wheeep! That is a long chapter. And I don't know if anyone else noticed, but some things might be a repeat… I kept pausing on my writing and would take a few days off and then go back, forgetting what was going on. Sooooo, yeah… Hope y'all liked it. And if there's any comments or questions about anything, don't hesitate! **

**And if I'm forgetting something, please, _please, __please,_please, _PLEASE, _tell me. I don't know if I'm forgetting anything important. Feels like I am….. **

**Anywho, see you guys next chapter!**

**And here's my citing! (I blame English class…. -_-")**

**"How To Perform Adult Cardiopulmonary ResuscitationÂ (CPR)." _ First Aid_. , n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. od/cpr/ht/06_ .**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**Chapter Twenty**

"Okay class, I gave you all an extra day to finish your projects. Now, you have to turn them in." Ms. Maki instructed her class just as the bell rung and everyone found their way to their seats. She clapped her hands a few times to gain everyone's attention before saying, "Now pass them all forward."

Everyone in the class began to pass up their final reports from their projects. I, however, stood up from my seat and without saying a word to my fellow friends and boyfriend, walked over to the front of the class with my half finished project in my hand. As soon as I arrived at the teacher's desk, I stopped and cleared my throat to redirect the teacher's attention from her computer screen.

"Mr. Mutou, what can I do for you?" She asked, seeming a little curious. She turned in her chair to face me, her elbows propped up on her desk while her hands crossed under her chin.

I handed her my project and explained before she could ask any questions. "I finished my book report and did more than half the assignment. I'm afraid that my partner won't be back in time to finish his part." Trying my hardest, I tried not to show any emotion of what I was feeling.

Ms. Maki took my project and glanced it over. Without looking up, she asked, "Why won't Ushio be able to complete his part of the assignment? You do know I can't take an incomplete project." She finally looked up.

I looked her dead in the eye and said, "That will be something you have to take up with the police and principle. As for an incomplete assignment, I looked through the school's website and it said that as long as you finish your whole part of a project or some kind of work when you're with a partner, that the part you did has to be graded." I could almost seen her gaze harden a little at my straight up answer and just to ease some of the tension, I added, "The only thing I can say is that Ushio will not be coming back to school for a while. I didn't see it any fair to have done my part of the work all for nothing." Giving the teacher no time to say anything, I turned my back to her and began walking back to my desk. This time, I couldn't help the small grin that broke out on my face.

Once I sat down, Joey and the rest of the gang turned towards me.

"What was that about, Yuge?" The blonde asked, noticing my grin.

I shook my head and brought my journal out of my bag. When I glanced up from my bag, my eyes met Yami's and he gave me a small encouraging smile. Everyone around us was confused and for a minute, I let them be. And then, before the teacher could start her lecture, I told them in a soft voice so no one else would be able to hear, "Ushio was sent to jail."

"For what?" Ryou asked, a smile breaking out on his face too.

"For attempt murder." Yami answered. "Apparently Danny told his parents about Ushio and they immediately filed a report. Then following the arrest of Tetsu Ushio, a court order was in play. He was charged with attempt murder and also being in a gang."

Bakura looked up in interest. "For how long?" He asked.

"Seven years." I said. "Three for the attempt of murder and four for the gang. It would have been less if we didn't have all of the victims testify against Ushio."

"And it would have been more if you were part of it." Yami added under his breath. No one else seemed to hear him except for me and I turned to him.

"You know I couldn't testify," I softly told him, not because I didn't want my friends to hear but because it was the truth. "It's been to long since everything and who would believe me?"

Yami's gaze hardened against mine and he kept his voice down low. Luckily, everyone else turned their attention to the teacher who began her lecture. "You have proof of what that bastard did to you. And just because it's been a couple of months -,"

"No," I shook my head, cutting him off midsentence. "In the end, Ushio got what he deserved. When he gets out of jail, the police are going to be keeping a close eye on the streets in case Ushio goes back to his old habits."

"But-,"

"But nothing." I took Yami's hand into the both of mine and squeezed. "What happened stays in the past, Yami. I think he got what he deserves. Can we leave it at that?" I widen my eyes just a tad for effects.

My other bit his lip and tried for as long as he could not to look away. However, after a minute, he gave in. "You know I hate it when you do that." He mumbled and looked away.

I smiled and squeezed his hand once more. "And I'll tell you what," He glanced back with a slightly curious look, "When Ushio does make it out and if he comes too close to me for your liking, I'll look the other way and whatever you do, I will pretend somebody else got to him."

Yami smirked. "I'll keep you to that." He said. "But that is only, _if, _he makes it out."

I raised an eyebrow and was about to question him on that 'if' when the teacher called us both out, scolding us for talking during her lecture.

XxxxX

As soon as the bell rang to end school, I raced out the school's door with Yami on my heels. Our hands were connected, tightly crossed in each other's grip so we couldn't lose one another. I dodged around groups of students walking away and other by passers, not even bothering to use my manners.

"Yugi!" Yami rolled his eyes at my impatience. "He'll be there. We have time!"

I heeded him no attention as I continued to run. We had to get there before he left, we just had to! We turned a corner and despite by breathing coming out in short pants, I kept going. I vaguely knew where we were going, since I've only been to his house once before. As we ran by a street, I felt a tug on my hand before stopping and glancing over at my boyfriend.

"What?" I frowned and almost glared at him.

Yami seemed unaffected as he pointed to a street we were about to pass.

I glanced up at the street name and if my cheeks weren't already red from the cold, they would have been a brightly scarlet color. I bit my lip and scratched my head with my free hand in embarrassment. I heard a chuckle from my other and before giving him a warning, I set off down the correct street.

Within two minutes of running, a taxi cab appeared in front of a two story, red brick house. There were several trees in the front and snow covered the ground. In the front yard, there was an unmistakably red For Sale sign that had a smaller blue sign on it that read Sold. A couple of people were standing in the yard, talking in front of the taxi cab. Only three people; two male and one female. Without a doubt, I recognized one of the guys, Danny. The female must be his mother and the other guy the taxi cab driver.

We came to a stop several feet from the house. "Danny," I called out, hoping to gain his attention.

All three people looked up and Danny smiled. He looked to his mom, muttered something to her before excusing himself and walked over to us.

"Hey, I thought you guys weren't gonna make it," Danny said when he was close enough. A look of relief crossed his face upon seeing us.

I grinned and shrugged my shoulders, "If I didn't make Yami hurry up, we probably weren't going to."

Yami rolled his eyes but had a smile on his face. He looked to Danny and said to him, "And if it weren't for me, Yugi would have never made it. Almost missed the turn."

I frowned at him but at Danny's laugh, I joined him.

After a minute, we calmed our laughing down. I wiped my eyes, even though there were no tears. I glanced over Danny's shoulders, movement catching my eye. Danny's mom and the cab driver were beginning to load the few bags the two had into the car.

"How much longer are you going to be here?" I asked, glancing back to my friend. I felt my heart squeeze at the thought of my friend leaving.

"And where exactly are you moving to? Have you found the exact location?" Yami asked since we never found out that exact information.

Danny scratched his arm and looked over his shoulder, noticing the car being packed up. "Not much longer," he said and then turned to face us again. "But yeah, we settled in the states. Some state called Texas." He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know anything about it and yet, that's where I'm moving too."

'_Texas… That's a long ways away from here…' _I thought, biting the inside of my lip. '_The only way we'll really be able to talk is online…' _

As if reading my thoughts, Danny nudged my arm with his own. "Well, at least this way, we can talk online and it's no lie that we're long distance from one another." He grinned. I smiled back too, remembering back when we were still online chatting, before we knew who the other was. The King of the Waffles.

"And you're actually moving to Texas." I added. Tears prickled at the back of my eyes but I kept them at bay. "Wasn't that the place you told me you 'lived' when we were online chatting?"

Danny thought about it for a minute and then a grin spread on his face again. "Yup." He said and let out a small chuckle. "I guess I did. Am I physic or what?"

I laughed and rolled my eyes, "Oh yeah, you are totally physic. You can totally see into the future." At that statement, I caught Yami's eye and knew immediately what he was thinking. Ishizu could see into the future with the help of the Millennium Necklace. I gave him a small shake of my head and he responded with an eye roll.

I opened my mouth to say something but was cut off by Danny's mom yelling for him.

We all turned towards the mom and noticed her getting ready to enter the car, her door opened and a leg already inside.

Danny turned back around. When I faced him, I noticed a look a sadness enter his eyes. "Well, I guess it's time." He said. He held a hand out to Yami and Yami took it. "It was great to get to know you these last couple of days."

Yami nodded in agreement. "It was. And thanks for keeping an eye out for Yugi. There's so much to repay you for all that you've done, and I don't know where to begin. So, if you ever need anything, despite being in a whole different country, just give me a call and I will do everything in my power to help."

They were still shaking hands when Danny tightened his hold. Not in an aggressive way, but just one to get a point by. "Just make sure to look after him. That'll be enough payment for me. Keep him close, and don't lose sight of him." A look passed between the two, a look of understanding and meaning. A hidden message. Before I had time to decipher what it was, the two released each other and Danny held a hand out to me.

I looked at his out stretched hand as if it was some kind of joke. Then I glanced up at him. He looked a little nervous. I rolled my eyes and gave him that look that said _seriously?_ before throwing my arms out around his waist and hugging him as tightly as I could. I felt arms wrap around my small frame and tighten.

"Thank you," I whispered, feeling the tears from before being unleashed. "Thank you for everything."

"Any time, Game," he whispered back and hugged me even tighter, "any time."

We held each other for a moment longer. There was so much I wanted to say to him but I didn't know how to say it. This was pretty much goodbye forever and the best I could come up was thanking him. Some friend I was. I buried my head into his chest until it was time for him to go.

I pulled away, wiping my eyes before he could see my fallen tears. "I guess this is it," I said and when we could see one another's face, I could see unshed tears in his own eyes.

"Yup," He said. He tried for a smile but it came out more as a grimace. "I guess I'll be seeing you guys." He said.

I nodded my head. I could tell he was trying as hard as he could not to let his expressions show, to keep it all in. I didn't comment on it, knowing how hard it was for him.

As Danny turned around and started to walk away, I leaned into Yami, feeling even more emotions well up inside. His arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer. With my head on his chest, I watched a good friend of mine leave Japan to start his own new life in the United States.

"I'm going to miss him," I said quietly, feeling new tears leave my eyes. Yami didn't say anything. "He helped me through so much, kept me company on lonely nights. It's thanks to him that I'm even alive." I sniffed. It wasn't only Yami who needed to say it, but I should have too. There was so much I owed to that man leaving but I didn't know where to even start. Suddenly, a thought did pop into my head.

"Yami…" I said, suddenly straightening up.

"You don't need my permission, Yugi." Yami said, already knowing what I was thinking. How he knew, was beyond me. I just thought of this just a second ago. That, and he was okay with this?

"Are you sure?" I asked, without even having to look at him.

"I don't like it," he admitted, "But I know it's something that you want to do. You feel like you owe him a lot and this is something you feel like you have to do."

I softly smiled, "Not have to, Yami, want to. I think I owe him this much."

Yami nodded his head and released his hold on me. "Go. I'll be right here."

As soon as I released my hold on my only true love, I yelled to my friend, "Danny!" I didn't even see him stop and turn around as I ran towards him.

"Yugi?" Was the only thing he managed to say before he noticed me running at him. His arms immediately went to grab me as I jumped at him, him not even aware of what was going on. "Yugi? What's go-," He started to say but was cut off when my lips met him. At first, he was shocked and a little surprised but he quickly caught on.

We were in lip contact for about a minute. It was nothing special and it didn't go past the lips, but we held each other for a brief moment before I pulled away first. My eyes were on his and I told him, reading his confused eyes, "I owe you so much for everything you've done, so I thought that was necessary."

Danny nodded, his confusion turning to be a bit in a daze. "Oh, alright." I rolled my eyes and he grinned, slowly setting me back down on my feet. He looked over my shoulder, noticing Yami looking in a different direction, his face too hard to read. "And he's alright with this?"

I didn't have to turn around to know who he was talking about. I nodded my head, "He doesn't like it, but he understands. Don't worry," I added with a smirk, "he's not going to beat you up."

"Uh huh…" Danny gave a nervous smile before turning to me. "I'm going to miss you, Yugi. And I'm sorry about everything."

I shook my head. "That is all in the past now. But, I'm sorry too." We hugged each other one last time. "Promise me you'll Skype me as soon as you are possible?"

Danny nodded. "Of course. I'll probably end up talking to you every day. So make sure you put some time aside for me."

With a nod, I smiled. "Definitely." I took a step back so he could get into the car. I watched him get in and get settled, all the while wrapping my arms around myself as if I was cold. But I wasn't. It was a way to comfort myself. But that wasn't needed for much longer before I felt a pair of arms wrap around me from the back. I leaned back, already knowing who it was.

"Are you alright?" Yami asked and gave me a little squeeze to show that he was here.

I nodded my head. "Yes, just a little sad." From the window, Danny held up a hand and began to wave. He was smiling, but it was full of sadness. Both Yami and I held up our hands in farewell. Slowly, the car came to life and began to pull away from the curb. As it started to drive away, all three of us continued to wave until the car was soon out of site.

And once the car completely disappeared, did we let our hands drop.

"So, what do you want to do?" Yami asked after a minute of silence.

My eyes were still glued to the site where the car was last seen. The feeling from before was slowly starting to go away. I did all that I could to show him my thanks. I hope he was okay with it.

"I don't know." I softly said.

"Would you like to go home? I know there's a certain couch that is just waiting to have people cuddle on it." He told me in a flirtatious way and gently poked my sides, getting a giggle put of me. "We could also watch a movie, your pick with some popcorn."

Still leaning back against him, I tilted my head back and glanced up at his face. He peered down at me. "I'd like that," I told him and smiled. Being casual about it, I leaned up a little and my lips touched his. For the first time in months, are lips finally touched. The kiss was nothing special, just like the kiss I shared with Danny, though this one had more feeling into it. More love.

When I finally pulled back, amused by his expression, I told him, "I love you, Yami." Then I snuggled against him, glad everything was now finally back to the way things used to be.

**XxxxX Until next time! **

**One chapter left and it's the Alternate Ending! **

**Now because y'all throw a fit, the kiss was something I've been planning for months. **

**Lisa: And before you ask, hell no was it because Yugi is attracted to Danny. He only loves Yami. Got it?**

**A little rude much? I just saw it as something cute that happens between the two from everything that had happened and all the two went through together. **

**One last thing before I let you go, if there is something you feel is missing, **

**Lisa: And not why everyone ignored Yugi **

**Please tell us. We want to make sure all of the loop holes are filled and not just hanging open before we come out with the last chapter. **

**Well, talk to you guys later!**

**Citation: **

"Questions about Joining a Gang." _Gangs: Questions & Answers from Prison: Joining a Gang_. Gangs and At-Risk Kids, 28 May 2010. Web. 04 Dec. 2012. . .

"Arrested - Attempted Murder?" _Arrested - Attempted Murder?_ Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education, 23 July 2010. Web. 04 Dec. 2012. speakup/1-arrested/2002-How-long-do-you-go-to-jail-for-attempted-murder.


	21. Alternative Chapter

**Okay, give you a heads up, this is going all the way back to when Yugi is yelling at Yami in the game shop before Yami suddenly got his memory back. This is the chapter you've all been waiting for!**

**And I just wanted to say thank you guys sooo much for reading and reviewing. It meant so much and I greatly appreciate it. I had a great time writing to this story and I hope you had a great time reading it. Thanks for everything, y'all!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**Warning: Suicidal thoughts, language and a big cliff-hanger at the end. **** And slight OOC.**

**Alternative Chapter**

As much as I could, I calmed myself down. In a bitter-filled voice, I told him, "Fine, don't tell me; I can already see your answer anyways. I was dumb enough to think that if I waited for you, you would get over yourself or whatever shit you had going on. But, I see the truth," I released my tight grip on him and took a step back. The tears in my eyes slowed down but still came. "You don't want me here, I get it. I'm sorry it took me this long to figure it out. But you know what?" A bitter laugh that held no emotions escaped from my lips. "You don't have to worry about that anymore. I'll leave and never come back." Turning my attention to everyone else in the room who I used to call my best friends, I said to them, "I can see I'm not welcome. Even in my own house."

I turned on my heel and fled the living room, leaving a now stunned Yami in my tracks. Instead of going upstairs to lock myself in my room, I rushed out of the door into the game shop, not even bothering to grab my jacket or keys. I raced through the dark and empty shop to the door where I fumbled with trying to unlock the locks. My hands were shaking so badly that it took me longer than normal to finally unlock the locks and flung open the door.

Out of the house. Out of the game shop. Out of my life. That was how I wanted it now. I want to leave my old life behind and go start somewhere new.

As soon as I stepped out of the shop, my mind grew heavy and my vision became blurred from the tears that came like a left on faucet. I tried to wipe them away, but that only made them worse and make them come out faster.

The cold continued to nip at my wet cheeks as I paused right outside the closed door. I sniffled and looked around. Where was I going? Shouldn't I have gone up to my room to pack some belongings and grab my money and whatnot? Wasn't I going to leave and never come back? But… where would I go?

Looking to my right, I knew the town laid that way, along with school, the park and the bus station. Turning my head to my left, I saw the steep hill a half mile or so away. There was a small park that way too, along with picnic tables and the ocean. That would be a good place to go and…

Bracing myself, I turned my feet in that direction. What was the point in trying to find a new place to go to? No matter where I go, I would always come back. This was my home and my soul mate, my other half lived here. I couldn't be away from him for more than a day, let alone forever. Not because I'd die without him, but because I still loved him.

I ran towards the hills, knowing the perfect place where I could go and not have to worry about anything anymore. I no longer had to be in physical and mental pain and I didn't have to worry about anybody. I could finally be at rest with everything even if nothing was settled. I could be left alone with my thoughts for the rest of my life… or something like that.

As I ran, I felt the rest of my world crumbled. All hopes of Yami ever loving me again fell within the cracks that would never be fixed again. The cold air nipped at my skin and as I breathed in through my mouth, trying to gain oxygen for my burning lungs, it stung. But I didn't care about that right now. I needed to escape somewhere where no one could interrupt me. I needed to escape reality.*

"Why?" I questioned myself. The hill I was currently on was having as much effect on me as running in a straight line. I heeded the hill no attention though. I just kept at it. "W-why… why did all of… this h-happen? W-what did I do w-wrong?" I shook my head and made it easily up the hill. I didn't even pause to think which direction I should go in, the easiest route to take to the cliff. I just ran. The only thing I did keep in mind was to watch out for the trees and rocks and rope that every-so-often got in my way.

Within a couple of minutes of dodging trees and picking myself up after tripping (which happened a lot), I finally saw the open space. Breaking through the line of trees, my eyes swept around the area. There were many picnic tables scattered all around the perimeter along with trashcans. Luckily, there was no one here. Which was probably a good thing considering sooner or later it was going to snow.

I slowed from a full on run to a steady jog, trying to calm my racing heart but still wanting to go faster than just a walk. I went all the way to where the cliff was. Before getting to the edge, I was met with the bordered line of rope and a sign. The sign was one of those warning signs warning you about the drop off of the cliff and to not go over the rope. But I ignored both the rope and sign and climbed over. I had slowed down all the way to a walk and carefully made my way over to the side.

Being out in the open, the wind blew hard all around me. The waves from the ocean crashed against the cliff side, making a roaring sound that easily reached my ears. I closed my eyes for a second, wondering exactly how cold the water was.

"Yugi!" A shout from behind me came.

I opened my eyes and turned around, confused. Who would be up here –besides me- yelling my name?

I blinked my eyes. And then blinked them again. Was it just me with my foggy head and blurry eyes, or was that Yami running towards me?

"Y-Yami?" His name came out a little breathy and full of confusion.

"Yugi, s-stop! Please, stop!" Yami yelled out.

I turned just my upper half to him and watched as he slowed to a stop just a few yards away from me. He was panting but he stayed upright, his eyes trained on mine. His eyes were wide, having a look of fear creep into them.

"W-what're you doing here?" I asked but my voice got caught in the wind.

But somehow he heard me and he took a step towards me. "I'm here because of you," he said, or more like yelled. The wind wiped around us both, throwing our hair into a wild frenzy. I had to force my body to stay still and not be carried off somewhere.

"Why?"

"Why?" Yami asked, taken aback. He frowned and watched me. "Why would I not? Yugi, what's going on?"

He was maybe about three yards away from me and a spark of fear filled me. I took a step back just as he took one forward. But when he noticed, he stopped, his frown deepening. I looked back out to the ocean, feeling a cold mist hit my face. I closed my eyes, noticing how easily it was just to take a few steps forward and fall over the edge.

"Yugi, don't!" I heard the desperation and fear in the other's voice and for some reason, anger replaced the fear from earlier and I spun around, completely facing him. My hands curled into fists at my side and my eyes were blazing.

"Don't?" I asked, almost seething. "Don't what, jump?" Yami took a step back, surprised by my reaction. From my peripheral vision, I noticed newcomers. Two black Mercedes' pulled up a hundred feet away and piling out of both cars were everyone that was at the game shop just moments before. They all came to a stop when they realized what was going on. But, I ignored them, my attention only on the man in front of me.

"Why would you care?" I continued. "You wouldn't have care if I killed myself in my room a week ago. These days, you don't seem to care about anything other than your friends." I gave him a bitter-filled smile.

Yami was taken aback. "What're you talking about?"

"Oh, you know very well what I'm talking about." My eyes narrowed. "Would you like me to elaborate for you?" Without giving him time to say yes or no, I shook my head and looked him dead in the eye. "You left me alone ever since we got back from Egypt. You made me fend for myself while you went out and hung out with friends. Not only did I have to tend to the game shop, keep my grades up, but I had to run away from every god damn bully in the whole city." Every emotion I hid came out and I didn't have time to think about anything, they just spilled out. "Where was my protector when I needed him most?" I asked in a mocking tone. "Oh, that's right; off playing and goofing off with friends." As I talked, everyone in the background hesitantly took a few steps forward. They didn't come as close as Yami did, but still close enough to where they could hear everything being said.

"Where were my _friends _when I was alone in my room every night?" I narrowed my eyes and glanced at everyone. "Friends are supposed to be there for you, to help you when things are going downhill, _not _ignore you and treat you like trash. They don't leave you alone, ever, especially when they know their friend had problems with bullies.

"And you know what's worse?" I glanced back at Yami at the same time as taking a step back. "You told me that you didn't want to lose me," memories of our last night in Egypt filled my head and the words Yami had spoken to me came back. "That you were afraid to go into the Afterlife because I wouldn't be there. Were those lies? Did you even mean any of that? If you didn't want to lose me, then why did you push me away and ignore me? Why did you treat me like I was not even there?"

I took in a deep breath, feeling too many emotions fill my head all at once. Anger, confusion, depression, sadness.

"Yugi, I-," Yami closed his mouth and looked away, trying to figure out what to say. When he finally looked back, his eyes were filled with pain. "I don't know."

"You… don't know?" I whispered, confusion replacing the anger. But as quick as that had come, the anger came crashing down just as fast, "You DON'T KNOW?!" I yelled. "How do you not know?!"

"I don't remember any of that!" Yami admitted, feeling sheepish. "There's bits and pieces -," Yami started to explain but I cut him off.

"I DON'T NEED YOUR EXPLANATION!" I yelled. "I'm through with all of this! I'm through with you, through with my so called friends, through with life!" I spun on my heel and was about to give in with throwing myself over the cliff.

"Yugi, don't!" Yami screamed from behind me and more voices from behind him yelled and screamed my name.

But before I made any attempt to move, I felt a pain in my head and squeezed my eyes shut. A soundless cry escaped my lips and in the background, I heard other cries of pain.

"**Yugi Mutou!" **A slightly familiar voice boomed. There was a sense of power and authority in those two words that would have some people shaking in fear and nerves. I managed to open my eyes to a blurry view of the ocean. And for some reason, I looked towards the sky. Somehow, I knew everyone else recovered from whatever it was that got to us and looked to the sky too.

My eyes fully cleared and widened a tad by what I was seeing. The sky had been gray and depressing all day and being next to the ocean, it seemed to be even more gray and depressing. But right now, the clouds swirled in one area, letting a stray of golden light come through and hit the ground in between me and Yami. But that wasn't all; the clouds that swirled in the sky seemed like something that only came out of movies and cartoons. They continued to swirl and a mixture of red, orange and yellow filled in with the gray, kind of like a sunset.

I had never seen anything like this happen, ever in all my seventeen years of living, but I knew immediately what it was I was seeing.

There appeared to be no face or object in the clouds, but the same voice came again, **"You have failed the test of the Gods." **

"Test?" My voice seemed to squeak. What test? I thought. What was the test even about? When did it ever start?

"No," I thought I heard Yami whisper but I ignored it, concentrating on the clouds before us. My heart pounded painfully against my ribcage and my breathing quickened.

"**The test of whether or not the Pharaoh and other yami's should stay put here in the Living world. And you have failed this test."**

"Wh-what?" The breath caught in my throat. "I-I don't understand." I glanced behind me, my eyes immediately searching out my other half. His eyes met mine and I saw the terror there. If Yami was scared about what was going on, then this was something to not take lightly. I gulped and turned back to the swirling clouds.

"**Of course you wouldn't," **Ra said, his voice carrying the hint of anger. **"You are a mere human. Do you really think the Gods' would allow one valuable Pharaoh to return to the world of the Living, let alone two others without something in return?" **

Before I had time to think of something to say, Yami yelled out, anger in his own voice. "You can't do this! You yourself gave me a wish -,"

"**Silence!" **Lightning flashed in the horizon and everyone flinched. **"You have no say in this."**

"But you-," More lightning crackled and Yami fell silent. Even he didn't dare defy the Gods.

I swallowed nervously and tried to get to the point. "Wh-what you trying t-to say?"

"**Yugi Mutou, you were given a test to see whether or not the three yami's should stay. If you had passed, they would have remained there."**

"And if I won…?"

There was silence and I glanced over my shoulder again but this time Yami was facing the sky, his expression too hard to read.

"What was the test?" I decided to ask, having a feeling that the god wasn't going to answer the other question.

"**I think you know."**__

I frowned. How would I know what the test was about? This was a test from a god who had power to do almost anything they wanted. How was—That was when it hit me.

"Why?" Tears sprang to my eyes as realization hit me again and again. "Why would you do that to me?"

"Yugi?" A concerned yet stern voice had me turning around and facing Yami. His eyes were full of confusion and for a moment, he looked like the same old Yami back before everything happened. The one I fell in love with and would do anything for. "What is he talking about?"

A tear slid down my cheek and the wind seemed to wipe it off for me. "He… He took your memories or something -,"

"**A mind block." **Ra corrected.

Yami seemed affect by those three words and I see him going still, along with the two yami's in the back. I nodded my head, the words making sense now. I continued on, wanting Yami to know everything. Or, well, mostly everything.

"You… they… all you guys ignored me. Up to a point that I was literally invisible to you all." I kept my eyes glued on Yami's, not daring to move them. "It doesn't sound that bad, but… it was. Ushio… he wouldn't leave me alone. And every bully in the whole town. I…" I shook my head, my brain pounding painfully against my skull. I squeezed my eyes shut and felt the tears seep through. "I was hurt not only physically, but emotionally. You had told me that you would never leave me, that you loved me. I felt betrayed. I felt like you were lying to me." A sob wrecked through my body and I opened my eyes again.

Yami looked horrified. His eyes were wide and his mouth opened but no words were coming out. After a minute or two, he managed to collect his thoughts, "Yugi, I don't know what… I don't remember any of that."

I smiled sadly. "I understand that now. It wasn't your fault." I turned around, back to the view of the ocean. Gathering my courage I knew that I didn't have, I asked, "What is my punishment?" I was nervous to find out what it was.

Before Ra could fill me in on what he had in mind, a different voice cut in.

"What did he even do wrong?" Joey demanded from where he was. I glanced back and noticed that he was standing next to Yami, looking pissed but scared at the same time. He was glaring up at the clouds. "You can't punish him without saying what he did wrong."

I felt a small smile grace my lips, seeing my best friend standing up for me. As the god was beginning to speak, I turned back around.

"**Insolence human. You should know your place. But, you make a valid point. The test was to see if Mutou could cope with the mind block, what he was willing to do and what measures he was willing to take. **

"**Look around you and you'll see how this affected him. He wasn't even willing to try and sort things out. If he wasn't able to even do this, a small simple task, what makes you think he could do anything else in the future?"**

I flinched at his words, knowing they were true. Instead of trying harder to make Yami understand, I resulted in committing suicide. I just didn't want to feel the pain anymore of losing loved ones. Maybe Ra is right, what if I can't do simple tasks in the future. What if one of those tasks happened to be life or death and the person ended up dying? What if—

"You're wrong!" Yami stated. "You gave him an impossible task and you think that one mess up means he wouldn't be able to do anything in the future? That's bull shit! Look at what he's done already. Doesn't that count for anything?! He risked his own life countless times to save the world. How can you set his future by one single test?"

"**Silence!"** The god roared and lightening crackled in the sky, lightening it up with a blinding yellow flash. **"He had many chances to prove himself. And he all failed them. This was his last chance and he consulted in suicide. He was willing to give up his life so easily. So let his wishes be granted."**

Before I had time to actually process what the god was referring to, I felt a sharp tug on my body. I heard my friends yell out my name but it was too late to say anything back to them. The tug, like an invisible rope, yanked me towards the side of the cliff and over the edge. I was headed back first. But right before I fell off, my eyes caught Yami's. They were wide with fear. And then I saw open sky.

I didn't scream. I didn't yell. I didn't make a sound. Tears poured out of my eyes as I fell down to the open ocean that waited below me. Maybe I did deserve this. It was better this way. It was better that I was punished for my own wrongs instead of the yami's. A thought had occurred to me after Ra said that I had failed. And that thought was he was going to take the yami's away, back to the Afterlife. But this, this was much better. At least no one had to suffer.

I closed my eyes and felt my gut clenched. The mind block. That was why Yami and everyone ignored me. Because of a stupid block the God put there. All to see if I would be capable to what? See if I could cope with having Yami here? But why? Why did he have to test me with that? Why a mind block?

Suddenly, I felt a pair of arms wrap around me and a warm body pushed against me. My eyes jerked opened and from the corner of my eye, I could see who it was. Even without having to look, I knew who it was by the touch and the smell.

"Wha-?" I managed to say.

"I'm not letting you do this alone," Yami whispered in my ear as his arms tightened around me. "I can't live my life without because you are my life. What Ra did was wrong."

Feeling emotions swell up inside me, I managed to pull my arms in and have them wrapped around my other half. I buried my head in his shoulder and managed to say, "I love you, Yami." Before we hit the water.

**XxxxX**

**Dun dun duuun. So, how did you like it? I know this chapter had some loose ends as to why Ra did what he did… to be honest, I thought I knew. But I don't know. Gods have reasons for doing whatever they wanna do, who are we to question them? ;) **

**Lisa: As for the end, you get to decided. Do they live, or do they die? **

**Yup. And that's it for the story. I hope you liked it!**

***- Does anyone know here that is from? ;D Cookies for those who can name it! (Not exactly the same words)**

**P.S. I don't know when I'll be able to publish a new story. I'm sooo engrossed with Supernatural right now, YGO no where really on my mind. So just be on the look out. But I can promise you that the next story that comes out will be Supernatural. If you're interested, give it a go! I have no idea when it'll be out! :D See y'all soon!**


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